Test Claimants in the Franked Investment Income Group Litigation v HMRC

In Test Claimants in the Franked Investment Income Group Litigation v HMRC (C-362/12 – 12 December 2013) the CJEU had to decide whether FA 2004 s 320 which curtailed the availability of ‘Kleinwort Benson’ claims in relation to taxation matters was compatible with the principles of effectiveness legal certainty and legitimate expectation.

Kleinwort Benson claims permit the restitution of sums paid under a mistake of law. The name Kleinwort Benson stems from the 1988 House of Lords decision. In 2003 the High Court ruled that these claims could apply to tax. The advantage of these claims was that they benefited from an extended limitation period; six years from the date on which the claimant discovered the mistake of law or could with reasonable diligence have discovered it.

FA 2004 s 320 provides that the extended limitation period does not apply to claims for restitution of...