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Madrid Won’t Refund Low-Emission Zone Fines After Supreme Court Upholds Annulment

City lawyers are reviewing tickets from the period after the 2024 court ruling.

Overview

  • The Supreme Court rejected the city’s appeal, leaving in place the TSJM ruling that said the low-emission rules rested on weak economic and environmental studies.
  • Vice Mayor Inma Sanz said there will be no blanket refunds because court annulments do not apply retroactively under established case law.
  • The city’s legal service is weighing whether to process tickets issued after the TSJM judgment under the old ordinance, a review that covers the Centro and Plaza Elíptica zones.
  • Vox’s Javier Ortega Smith plans an urgent motion at the next council plenary to demand repayment of all fines.
  • Drivers can still challenge tickets one by one within set deadlines, and a new ordinance approved in March is now in force that the city says fixes the formal defects.