Brussels, 13/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 12 December, the EU Court of Justice ruled against (case C-362/12) UK legislation whose effect is to deprive taxpayers, without notice and retroactively, of a remedy (“Kleinwort Benson cause of action”) for recovering tax levied in breach of EU law (in the case in question, reimbursement of the “advance corporation tax” to the Aegis group). By legislation enacted on 24 June 2004, the national legislature decided that the limitation period for the “Kleinwort Benson cause of action” was not to apply in relation to a mistake of law relating to a taxation matter within the remit of the commissioners of Inland Revenue (this rule applied retroactively to actions introduced as of 8 September 2003, the date when the law was announced). In its ruling, the Court considers that the new regulation must comprise transitional arrangements that give persons subject to the law sufficient time, after adoption of that law, to lodge claims for repayment of taxes unduly paid out that they were entitled to present under the former legislation. The fact that taxpayers have a second means of appeal (“Woolwich cause of action”) does not counteract the negative consequences of removing the most favourable remedy, the Court states. (FG/transl.jl)