A Czech tax imposed in 2011 and 2012 on carbon emission allowances granted to companies for free breached a European Union directive, the European Union’s Court of Justice ruled on Thursday. The ruling was made at the request of a Czech court which is considering an appeal of an electricity producer, Sko-Energo, against the tax, but a similar claim to get the gift tax back was made by the country’s biggest energy firm, ČEZ.