Mexico City, May 13th, 2020.
Last April 30, 2020, Decree No. 62 by means of which Title Second, Chapter IX, articles 133, 134, 135 and 136 are amended and articles 136-1, 136-2, 136-3, 136-4, 136-5, 136-6 and 136-7 are added, and Chapter XIX, article 156-9, Chapter XXII, article 156-48 are amended, all from the Finance Act of the State of Baja California (“Decree No. 62”) was published on the Official Gazette of the State of Baja California; same that entered into force on May 1st, 2020.
Decree No. 62 establishes an environmental tax to individuals, legal entities and economic units with facilities or fixed sources, in the State of Baja California’s territory, in which goods or products generating air emissions are sold to final consumers.
For purposes of this disposition, an air emission will be understood as the direct or indirect expulsion of the following greenhouse gases (GHG) carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride.
Decree No. 62 also sets forth the emission factors to be used to calculate the carbon dioxide (CO2) kilograms generated by each one of the following fossil fuels:
- Gasoline (2.196 kg of CO2 per liter).
- Diesel (2.471 kg of CO2 per liter).
- Natural gas (2.690 kg of CO2 per liter).
- L.P. gas (3.00 kg of CO2 per liter).
The addressees of the tax must pay a fee of $ 0.17 Mexican pesos per kilogram of CO2 as per the information above.
Even when the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (“SCJN” for its acronym in Spanish) recently solved that the States are empowered to establish contributions in matters of environmental protection, we consider that the tax recently approved by the Congress of the State of Baja California could be unconstitutional and hence susceptible of being challenged through an amparo action.
The lawyers from the Energy and Environmental Law Practices of the firm are at your service to further discuss this topic and clarify any query you may have to this regard.
S I N C E R E L Y,
Daniel Del Río
Juan Carlos Serra
Ricardo Evangelista
Mariana Arrieta
