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This case makes clear that there is no time limit for issuing the road user charging penalty charge notice under the regulations and that – on receipt of representations against the penalty charge notice – the authority seeking to reject those representations must issue a Notice of Rejection within 56 days. That notice must include the required information detailed under the regulations.

If a Notice of Rejection is not served, the authority is deemed to have accepted the representations. Re-issuing the penalty charge notice to allow for a further period of discount does not remove the authority’s obligation to issue a valid Notice of Rejection in response to representations.

This decision of the Scottish Court of Session (equivalent to the Court of Appeal in England) analyses breaches of mandatory regulations and considers whether such a breach is fatal to lawful enforcement of the civil penalty (in this case, issued for Glasgow Low Emission Zone).

The decision – binding in Scotland and highly persuasive when considering cases relating to England and Wales – underlines that a failure to follow regulations or a procedural irregularity that causes no prejudice is not fatal to the enforcement of the penalty charge notice.

This case clarifies that the relevant traffic regulations apply to the motorist, even if they cannot read or understand English. It is incumbent on the motorist to observe and comply with lawfully marked restrictions. A failure to understand them, or a lack of knowledge, cannot amount to a ground of appeal.

The case makes clear that a penalty charge notice (PCN) should be read as a whole to assess whether it conveys the requirements of the relevant regulations.

This case clarifies that tribunal adjudicators are independent office holders with no financial or other incentive to act in any way other than impartially, as evidenced by appeal outcome statistics.