Mexico City, May 9, 2022.
Today, and after 45 modifications (over 10 years), the new Rules Agreement of the Ministry of Economy is published in the Official Gazette of the Federation, whose main purpose is to provide legal certainty regarding the various foreign trade procedures, as well as the correct compliance with regulations and non-tariff restrictions.
Among the main facilities established in the new Agreement are the automation of procedures through the Digital Window; the elimination of the requirement to present the Fe de Hechos in the various procedures under the responsibility of the General Directorate of Trade Facilitation and Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Economy; the simplification of notices and permits; and the disclosure of the tariff fractions subject to compliance with Mexican official standards, as well as the payment of countervailing duties as established in the Foreign Trade Law.
This bulletin summarizes the changes with the greatest impact on foreign trade operations:
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
IMMEX
New Programs (for all modalities)
Pursuant to rule 3.2.20, in addition to what is established in the applications, they must comply with the following:
- The productive sector indicated must be within the activities permitted by the IMMEX Decree and coincide with the corporate purpose of the company.
- Enter the commercial folio number.
- Indicate suppliers and customers (optional).
According to the new rule 3.2.23, the pre-operating period will be granted for a period of three months, and may be extended for an equal period in order to complete the installation of the machinery and equipment necessary to carry out the purpose of the Program.
The Ministry of Economy, by means of an official letter of resolution, will indicate the conclusion of such period and will authorize the temporary importation of the goods under the Program.
Registration of domicile
Pursuant to new rule 3.2.24, in the case of IMMEX domicile registration, it is no longer necessary to present the Faith of ActsThe requirements set forth in said numeral must be complied with.
Companies that have machinery and equipment prior to the registration of the real estate must only prove their legal possession.
For those companies with an authorized IMMEX Program in industrial modality and that need to register a warehouse or warehouses hired by third parties, they may prove possession of the property with a contract for the provision of warehousing services, the requirement to present a Factual Statement is eliminated.
Certified companies
In accordance with the new rule 3.2.18, it is specified that the activities carried out under the authorization of the service modality must be related to manufacturing activities The Company is not required to register with the IMMEX Program in order to be eligible for the benefit of not having to register with the Mexican Ministry of Economy.
The electronic file of the certified company must be kept up to date, informing the Ministry of Economy, in writing, of the goods to be imported to carry out its production processes, as well as the final products to be exported under the corresponding Program.
Submanufacturers
It is specified that an IMMEX company may not be registered as a submanufacturer if the Program has been cancelled under a serious cause within the 5 years prior to the application.
Specific requirements for sensitive goods
The application for the extension and subsequent extension of the IMMEX Program for the temporary importation of sensitive goods, as of the entry into force of the Agreement, must be filed through the Digital Window.
For the extension procedure, it is eliminated:
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- The requirement to include the number of administrative, accounting and management employees.
- Ratification of the contents of the Registered Public Accountant's Report in the corresponding Representative Office.
For the subsequent extension process, it will no longer be necessary to present the Fe de Hechos, as well as the public accountant's report.
Subsequent extensions may be authorized in those cases in which credit the return of 100% of the total volume temporarily imported.. In the event that the total amount authorized has not been imported, the reasons must be justified.
For current authorizations that have balances pending import, a four-month extension may be requested, at least fifteen working days prior to the expiration date, in order to exercise the pending amount. Such request must be made by e-mail to immex.sesible@economía.gob.mx.
Other general provisions
- Factual Background
Through rule 3.1.1, it is established that in those cases in which the domicile of the person requesting the procedure is located within the circumscription of the Representative Offices of the Ministry of Economy or there is a collaboration agreement with agencies, entities or organizations of the federal, state or municipal Public Administration, it will not be obligatory to present the Fe de hechos in the following procedures:- New Program Application (IMMEX and PROSEC)
- Change of modality of (IMMEX)
- Expansion of service activities (IMMEX)
- Expansion of repair, reconditioning and remanufacturing activities.
- Expansion for import of sensitive goods (IMMEX)
For such purpose, the request must be submitted in writing and attached to the procedure before the Digital Window. The Ministry of Economy will have a term of 10 working days to carry out the corresponding inspection or verification visit.
The rest of the procedures will continue to comply with the requirement of the Fe de Hechos, for which the Public Broker must be authorized by the Ministry of Economy and disclosed in the SNICE Portal. It will no longer be necessary to send it by e-mail.
For this last point, a term of six months is granted, as from the effective date of the new Agreement, for the Fe de Fechos to be issued by any notary public.
- Resolution Deadlines
In order to provide certainty with respect to the approval or rejection resolutions, it is specified that the response periods will begin to run when the file is complete, once the inspection visit has been carried out (for which they have a period of 10 working days) and/or the period for responding to the request for information has elapsed.
To this effect, a new application may not be filed for the same procedure until the current resolution is issued.
- The new rule 3.2.33 lists the requirements, among which are the production process, the export project, and the corresponding inspection visit, for the change of modality procedures.
- The following procedures are included, which should be carried out through e-mail: dgce.tramitesc@economia.gob.mx.
- Companies with an IMMEX Program that carry out a merger or spin-off.
- IMMEX companies that wish to notify changes in the data stated in the application for approval of the Program, which must be made within a maximum period of ten business days following the date of the change.
- IMMEX companies that request the temporary suspension of the goods authorized under the Program. The authorization may be granted for six months, extendable for an equal period.
PROSEC
In addition to the current requirements, the following must be attached to the application submitted through Ventanilla Digital:
New Programs:
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- The production process (including each stage of the process, machinery, equipment, personnel involved and duration, commercial description, tariff item, among others).
- Plans of the facilities, photographic support of the areas corresponding to production, storage areas, among others.
- The requirement to present the inventory of machinery and equipment, as well as the photographic support and documents evidencing their legal possession is eliminated.
Sector Expansion:
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- The production process (including each stage of the process, machinery, equipment, personnel involved and duration, commercial description, tariff item, among others).
- Plans of the facilities, photographic support of the areas corresponding to production, storage areas, among others.
- The requirement to present the Factual Statement is eliminated.
Other general provisions
- In order to provide certainty with respect to the approval or rejection resolutions, it is specified that the response periods will begin to run when the file is complete, once the inspection visit has been carried out (for which they have a period of 10 working days) and/or the period for responding to the request for information has elapsed.
To this effect, a new application may not be filed for the same procedure until the current resolution is issued.
- The following procedures are included, which should be carried out through e-mail: dgce.tramitesc@economia.gob.mx.
- Companies with PROSEC Program that carry out a merger or spin-off.
- PROSEC companies that wish to notify changes in the data stated in the application for approval of the Program, such as fiscal address, partners and shareholders, name, legal representative.
DRAWBACK
Requests for refund of the general import tax (as indicated in the DRAWBACK Decree) and subsequent requests will be made via e-mail: dgce.drawback@economia.gob.mx.
PERMITS AND NOTICES
Tomato pre-export permit
It will be valid for the term established in the Single Form AA-P-SRRC1, Notice of Adherence to the Contamination Risk Reduction Systems Program (SRRC) for the implementation of Good Practices in Fresh Tomato Production and/or Packing Units, issued by the Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER); previously it was valid for two months.
Tire Retreading Permit
The verification or inspection visit is established through the Ministry of Economy, by means of the public servants empowered to do so, of the authorized Representative Offices or, of those agencies, entities or organisms of the Federal, state or municipal Public Administration, as the case may be, with which it enters into Collaboration Agreements, as an alternative to the presentation of the Certificate of Facts issued by a Public Broker.
MEXICAN OFFICIAL STANDARDS
Annex 2.4.1 establishes the tariff items subject to compliance with official Mexican standards, to which the following are added NOM-028-ENER-2017The new law, which will enter into force thirty calendar days after its publication, will be effective for incandescent, incandescent with halogen, linear fluorescent, high intensity discharge and mixed light lamps, and will be effective thirty calendar days after its publication. NOM-212-SCFI-2017which establishes and defines the characteristics of cells and batteries, their classification by electrochemical system technology, as well as the maximum permissible limits of Mercury and Cadmium, and finally, the NOM-235-SE-2020which establishes the denomination of tuna and bonito, with or without optional ingredients, in any form of presentation, packed in hermetically sealed containers, as well as commercial information, specifications and test methods.
Likewise, the benefit is granted to those imports made by courier and parcel companies that are registered with the SAT and whose customs value does not exceed US$2,500 and are not required to demonstrate compliance with Mexican official standards before the customs authority.
COUNTERVAILING DUTIES
In order to provide certainty with respect to the goods subject to the payment of antidumping duties, the obligatory tariff items are listed and the instrument will be updated every six months.
List of participants in the Kimberly Process Certification System
The list of participants in the SCPK established in Annex 2.2.13 of the Agreement is updated to include:
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- Central African Republic
- The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,
- Gabon
- United Kingdom
ENTRY INTO FORCE
The Agreement in question enters into force on the day of tomorrow, May 17, 2022.
The lawyers of the area are at the best disposition to solve your doubts regarding the application and effects of this Decree or any other subject or litigious matter related to Foreign Trade, Customs and Regulatory matters.
A T T E N T A M E N T,
Sergio N. Barajas
barajas@basham.com.mx
Roberto Serralde
rserralde@basham.com.mx
Pamela Pinto
ppinto@basham.com.mx
Gustavo Guilén
gguillen@basham.com.mx
Rolando A. Ramirez
rramirez@basham.com.mx
NOTE: It is important to clarify that this Newsletter is only an informative publication for clients of Basham, Ringe y Correa, S.C., since the comments herein are derived from the publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation, today, of the Agreement by which the Ministry of Economy issues rules and criteria of a general nature in foreign trade matters, and consequently, do not refer to interpretations of specific cases or real situations that may constitute a particular advice.
The decision to consult this newsletter is completely free and, consequently, the Firm cannot be held responsible for any misuse due to actions based on the information or general comments contained in this publication.
