Open Source Content Management

On November 5, the Plenary of the Chamber of Deputies approved the changes made by the Senate to the economic package for 2021 (“Economic Package”), which had been sent to that reviewing chamber on October 19.

Today, November 5, 2020, the Federal Industrial Property Protection Law (LFPPI), published July 1, 2020, enters into force, abrogating the Industrial Property Law of 1991 and its subsequent reforms and additions.

On October 19, 2020, the Ministry of the Public Function (“MPF” or the “Ministry”) published in the Federal Official Gazette, the Protocol to Protect Corruption Whistleblowers. This Protocol provides the guidelines for granting, implementing, and following up on measures aimed to protect whistleblowers, as we explain below.

On October 23, 2018, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare published the NOM-035-STPS-2018, for the identification, analysis and prevention of psychosocial risks at work, in the Official Federal Gazette, which indicated it would enter into force gradually and therefore certain matters would become mandatory one year after its publication and others two years afterwards.

On October 19 and 20, 2020, the Plenary of the Chamber of Deputies approved (i) the report of the draft decree that reforms, amends and eliminates various provisions of the Income Tax Law, the Value Added Tax Law and the Federal Tax Code; (ii) the report of the draft decree that issues the Federal Revenue Law for Fiscal Year 2021; and (iii) the report of the draft decree that reforms, amends and eliminates various provisions of the Federal Fees Law (“Draft Decrees”).

On October 7, 2020, the Energy Regulatory Commission (“CRE”) published in the Official Federal Gazette the “Resolution of the Energy Regulatory Commission (“Resolution”) amending general administrative provisions (“Provisions”) that establish the terms for requesting authorization for the modification or transfer of power generation or electricity supply permits, contained in resolution number RES/390/2017.”

On October 7, 2020, the Federal Economic Competition Commission (“COFECE” or “Commission”) issued comments and recommendations to the National Regulatory Improvement Commission (“CONAMER”) regarding the regulation issued by the Energy Regulatory Commission (“CRE”), which modifies the electric power self-supply and cogeneration permit system.

Today the modification to Annex 2.4.1. “Tariff classifications of the tariff of the general import and export taxes law in which the merchandise subject to compliance with the Mexican official standards in the point of its entry into the country and in the point of its exit is classified” (better known as the NOMs Annex) of the Ruling amending the other ruling by which the Ministry of Economy issues general rules and criteria in Foreign Trade matters was published in the Official Federal Gazette (DOF).

On September 25, 2020, the Head of Government of Mexico City published in the Official Gazette the Twenty-Second Notice announcing the color of the Epidemiological Traffic Light for Mexico City, and the modification of the Guidelines for the Execution of the Gradual Plan toward the New Normality in Mexico City (hereinafter, the Notice).

Under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (hereinafter the USMCA), it is possible for Mexican manufacturing or services companies that deny their workers certain collective rights to be sanctioned. The sanctions may include the elimination of the preferential tariff treatment on the merchandise they export, fines and even the denial of access of the merchandise to such market in the case of recurrence.

This past September 8, the Federal Executive presented the economic package for the fiscal year 2021 (“FEP 2021”) to the Congress of the Union. It contemplates, among other things, the proposal of the Federal Revenue Law for Fiscal Year 2021, and the proposal of Decree (“Decree”) amending provisions of the Income Tax Law (“IT”), Value Added Tax Law (“VAT”), Special Tax on Production and Services Law (“STPS”), and the Federal Tax Code (“FTC”).

As you may be aware, due to the Reform of the Federal Labor Law on May 1, 2019, some amendments to legal provisions have arisen, proposals for labor reforms, as well as the measures to confront the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus, labor matters have gained great relevance, not to mention all the changes that must be implemented in collective bargaining matters in order to comply with the USMCA.

On August 24, 2020 the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (“SEMARNAT”) published the “Ruling lifting the suspension of legal terms and time periods in the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and its Administrative Agencies” (“Ruling”) in the Federal Official Gazette.

Yesterday, the Energy Regulatory Commission (“CRE”) published in the Federal Official Gazette (“DOF”), the “Ruling resuming the legal terms and deadlines for the Energy Regulatory Commission, which were suspended as a measure to prevent and combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the various numbers A/010/2020, A/014/2020, A/015/2020 and A/018/2020”. (“Ruling”).

Today the Decree that adds a fifth paragraph to article 1 of the Public Sector Acquisitions, Leases and Services Act (“Acquisitions Act”) entered into force.

On August 3, 2020, “the Ruling by which the National Hydrocarbons Commission (“CNH”) establishes various measures to promote the development of oil activities” (the “Ruling”), which had been published by the National Commission for Regulatory Improvement to receive comments on July 17, 2020, was published in the Official Federal Gazette.

The Tax Administration Service (SAT) published on its webpage today a minisite related to the “Payment of Fees of Certified Companies”, through which it intends to charge, retroactively and into the future, the companies Certified under VAT and IEPS category with certain fees. In effect, SAT considers that these companies have been obligated to pay annual fees from the moment they obtained their certification and for its entire duration. The “defaulting” companies may pay the fees with the applicable adjustments for inflation and surcharges.

Please be informed that on August 3, the Ministry of Health published in the Official Federal Gazette, the Ruling establishing new activities or industries considered essential, in order to guarantee the correct initiation of the school year 2020-2021.

As part of the New Normality measures, it was determined that in Mexico City employers had to test their employees for the COVID-19 illness. However, on July 28, 2020, changes were published in the Official Gazette of Mexico City to the “Guidelines for the Execution of the Gradual Plan toward the New Normality in Mexico City”, which document provides new guidelines in relation to the application of those tests.

On July 27, 2020, the Ministries of Health and of Labor and Social Welfare, together with the Mexican Social Security Institute, published in the Official Federal Gazette, the Ruling announcing the method for disseminating the standards for vulnerable population (hereinafter, the Standards).