OCTOBER 2009 EDITION ARCHIVE

• • Legal Updates

    PRACTIQUE LEGAL - Audits and Inspection Visits

    by Rene Cacheaux Who is not surprised by an audit or an inspection visit? There are several kinds of audit and inspection visits performed in Mexico and each kind of visit carries different implications and consequences. Tax, customs and environmental audits figure among the most common domiciliary inspections to a business. There are many other kinds of inspections, but such inspections are less frequent and of less consequence to companies. In spite of their element of surprise, inspection visits... [Read More]

  • 300 PALABRAS - New Congressional Term Begins

    Opinion by Dr. Mario Melgar-Adalid The beginning of Mexico's new Congressional term defined the underlying political tendencies that are expected to prevail in Mexico during the next three years. On one hand, the Party of the Institutional Revolution ("Partido Revolucionario Institucional" or "PRI"), which commands a clear majority in Congress together with its ally the Green Party ("Partido Verde"), has shown restraint and appears to prefer to stay on the sidelines... [Read More]

  • Recent Case Decision - Recording Fees

    Mexico's Supreme Court of Justice published recently case decision P./J. 95/2009, titled "Recording Fees. Federal or local laws setting a fee based on the value of the transaction that gave rise to the recording, violate the tax collection principles of proportionality and equity." In such precedent, Mexico's highest court holds that fees paid to the treasury of the State are in consideration for administrative services rendered by the government to the individuals that request... [Read More]

  • Recent Case Decision - Effect of an Amparo Judgment on Tax Rules

    Mexico's Supreme Court of Justice published recently case decision number 2a./J.93/2009, titled "Tax rule that grants benefits to certain taxpayers, excluding other taxpayers that are similarly situated from a legal standpoint. The effect of an amparo judgment ruling its invalidity is that it also benefits the plaintiff." In this case precedent, Mexico's Supreme Court of Justice held that constitutional protection of amparo proceedings aimed at challenging a tax rule that benefits... [Read More]

  • The Department of Economy Proposes Amendments to the Automotive Decree

    In order to support Mexico's final automotive assembly industry, the Department of the Economy proposed a series of amendments to the Decree for the Support of the Final Automotive Assembly Industry's Competitiveness and for the Stimulus of the Domestic Automobile Market ("Decreto para el Apoyo de la Competitividad de la Industria Automotriz Terminal y el Impulso al Desarrollo del Mercado Interno de Automóviles") or Automotive Decree. The Automotive Decree, published on... [Read More]

  • New Urban Development Law for the State of Nuevo Leon

    On September 9, 2009, the Official Newspaper for the State of Nuevo Leon published the new Urban Development Law for the State of Nuevo Leon ("UDL"), which will become effective on November 8, 2009. The UDL provides, among other new provisions, the following: i) Dedicated land: the UDL preserves the concept of dedicated land for the development of real property as well as the construction of real property on 7% to 17% of such dedicated land outside the limits of a subdivision, depending... [Read More]

  • Business & Politics Outlook

    Political Thermometer

    In an effort to support his fiscal plan, President Felipe Calderon admitted that the poverty level in Mexico increased from 14 to nearly 20 million people during the three years of his administration. Such admission did not yield the intended effect, on the contrary, it galvanized opposition to President Calderon's plan to increase taxes and implement new taxes. President Calderon's argument that extreme poverty will increase in Mexico every day if drastic measures are not implemented did... [Read More]

  • Economic Indicators

    Peso/Dollar Exchange Rate

    The quoted exchange rate as of October 12, 2009 was $13.2178 pesos per dollar.

  • Mexican Stock Exchange

    The Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) closed on October 12, 2009 at 30,327.31 points.

  • Interest Rates

    On October 12, 2009, the Average Interbank Interest Rate (TIEE) for a 28-day period was at 4.9423%.

  • Mexico IP Info

    Commercial Message

    The Mexican Intellectual Property Law defines a Commercial Message as "phrases and sentences intended to make public announcements on business branches or trade negotiations, industry or services, products or services, for purposes of making a distinction from similar ones". Like trademarks, commercial messages are distinctive signs that help distinguish products and services from those offered by competitors, nevertheless, they often receive less attention than trademarks. Commercial... [Read More]