The Madrid City Council has confirmed that it will not refund the money from Low Emission Zone (LEZ) fines overturned by the courts, despite the recent Supreme Court ruling that leaves more than three million fines in limbo.
Deputy Mayor Inma Sanz has reiterated that the city council will not automatically refund the amounts collected for ZBE fines affected by the court’s ruling of invalidity. The main argument is that the Supreme Court’s ruling “has no retroactive effect, ” so that, according to her interpretation, it only applies to cases still pending and not to fines that have already been paid and are final. The City Council relies on general traffic case law to argue that it is not obligated to conduct a mass review of closed cases.
What has the Supreme Court decided regarding the ZBE?
The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal filed by the Madrid City Council and upheld the ruling of the Madrid High Court of Justice (TSJM) that annulled several articles of the Mobility Ordinance defining the scope of the capital’s ZBE. This amounts to the partial nullification of the legal framework that served as the basis for imposing the fines, and opens the door to challenging the validity of more than 3.3 million fines issued between 2021 and 2025, totaling approximately 650 million euros. The Supreme Court ruled that the City Council failed to demonstrate sufficient “standing to appeal,” meaning the TSJM’s annulment is now final and no further appeals are permitted.
Motorist associations, such as AEA, maintain that the nullification of the ordinance should result in the annulment of the fines and the refund of the money collected. They demand that the City Council halt the processing of open cases and establish a procedure to refund the amounts paid, arguing that drivers have suffered “financial damage.” However, the City Council maintains that there will be no automatic mass refunds and that any claims will have to be processed on a case-by-case basis, through administrative appeals or contentious-administrative proceedings.
The new ordinance and fines going forward
In March 2026, Madrid approved a new Mobility Ordinance, currently in force, which re-regulates the ZBE and seeks to remedy the legal flaws detected in the previous regulations. Restrictions on the most polluting vehicles remain in effect, and the penalty system is maintained: entering the ZBE without authorization is classified as a serious offense, with standard fines of 200 euros, typically reduced to 50% for prompt payment. In other words, the ruling does not eliminate the current restrictions or penalties, but rather affects the legal framework of the previous period and the debate over fines already issued.
Anyone with an old fine linked to the annulled articles may attempt to file a claim, arguing the invalidity of the ordinance on which the fine was based. Generally, the procedure involves filing an appeal for reconsideration or submitting administrative arguments within the deadline, and, if these are dismissed, pursuing the matter through administrative litigation in court. In the case of penalties that are already final and have been paid, experts recommend exploring the feasibility of requesting a refund of overpaid amounts, although this will likely require individual lawsuits or class-action lawsuits filed by drivers’ associations.