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Madrid will refund the waste collection fee only to those who claimed in time
The Ayuntamiento de Madrid will refund the annulled waste collection fee, but not to all taxpayers. Only those who submitted claims before the ruling by the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid, which declared the ordinance void, will be able to recover their money.
The decision is based on the regulations in force. The law allows refunds to be limited to those who appealed in time, and the City Council has chosen to apply this criterion. This excludes most residents who paid the charge without lodging an appeal.
The conflict originates in Tax Ordinance 8/2024, which introduced the new levy. The measure prompted criticism because of its economic impact and differences between neighbourhoods. Finally, the TSJM annulled the charge because it considered that part of the technical report justifying its calculation was missing.
Although the judgment is not yet final and the City Council is considering an appeal, the framework for refunds has already been set. According to estimates from the tax sector, only around 130,000 people will be able to recover the money, compared with hundreds of thousands of affected taxpayers.
For those who did make a claim, the process will follow the usual procedure for refunds of undue payments through the municipal tax administration. By contrast, those who did not will have little chance of recovering the amount unless the judicial criterion changes.
Most residents will not recover the money paid, which maintains the economic impact on many households. Only those who claimed in time will see a refund, which creates clear differences between taxpayers. In addition, the decision may generate more mistrust and new claims in the management of local taxes. The case sets a precedent for how refunds are applied after charges are annulled.