The Spanish Supreme Court has handed down a judgment that changes the established position on claims for refunds of excess amounts of tax withheld or prepaid pursuant to a tax treaty. The problem arose with respect to the legal provision (i.e. Decree 363/1971), which stipulated that claims of this type had to be made within a maximum period of 1 year (extended to 2 years by Royal Decree 537/1997) from the date of payment of the tax. The Supreme Court's position (e.g. Supreme Court decisions of 2 April of 1998; 29 January, 12 February and 4 March 2000; and 24...