The United States district court ruled that a telephone service provider was entitled to a refund of federal excise tax since the service provided did not fall under the definition of “toll telephone service.” The taxed service is defined as a charge that varies in amount of “distance and elapsed transmission time.” The company charged for its service based on elapsed transmission time, but did not vary its charges in any way related to distance. The service provider charged per-call. (Fortis, Inc. v. United States of America, United States District Court, September 16, 2004)