The Transport Appeal Tribunal for Scotland ruled in October 2023 that LEZ fines which the council had failed to send using recorded or registered post were not enforceable.

At the time of the ruling, 38 LEZ fines were overturned. The council appealed to the Inner House, which found that the legislation did not allow for the fines to be overturned “on the basis of a technicality”.

Appeal judges were told that it could not have been contemplated in the legislation that “a purely technical point” would allow people to avoid paying fines.

Lord Pentland, delivering the opinion of the court, said he agreed with the council’s position.

He said that if penalty notices had been delivered successfully and in a timely manner that there would be “no reason” for it to be unenforceable “essentially on the basis of a technicality”.