Open Source Content Management

The Senate of the Republic approved the draft issuing the Federal Cannabis Regulation Act, which will go to the Deputies Chamber for discussion and/or modification and eventual approval. While the report did not satisfy the expectations of all the political, economic and social sectors involved, it is a plausible beginning on the road to liberating certain uses of cannabis. The following seem to us to be the most relevant points of the draft:

Yesterday the “Ruling establishing administrative measures for facilitating the processing of the sanitary registration of medicines and other health products from abroad” was published in the Official Federal Gazette, under which the Federal Commission for Protection from Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) must resolve the requests for sanitary registration of certain medicines and health products from abroad in a maximum period of 5 business days. Otherwise the registration request will be understood as approved.

This past November 12th, the Federal Executive presented to the Chamber of Deputies the “Bill with Draft Decree reforming, adding and derogating various provisions of the Federal Labor Act, the Social Security Act, the National Workers Housing Fund Institute Act, the Federal Tax Code, the Income Tax Act and the Value Added Tax Act” (“Bill”).

The Senate of the Republic initiated the process of discussing a law to regulate the various uses of cannabis. In principle, the purpose is to comply with a series of judicial decisions and proceedings that declared the unconstitutionality of the absolute prohibition of the personal use of the product and required the issuance of the necessary guidelines for its medicinal use. However, the legislative discussion also seeks to respond to the demands of an important part of the society to liberalize its use.

Following up on the labor reform of May 1, 2019, derogating and reforming various provisions of the Federal Labor Act and other secondary laws, we inform you that the first stage of implementation of said labor justice reform begins tomorrow.

As you know, there has been a lot of discussion concerning possible amendments to eliminate subcontracting schemes. Accordingly, yesterday the President of the Mexican Republic, together with the Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare, announced that a new Bill will be presented to the Chamber of Deputies to reform various provisions of the Federal Labor Act, the Social Security Act, the National Workers Housing Fund Institute Act, the Federal Tax Code, the Income Tax Act and the Value Added Tax Act, in relation to subcontracting (hereinafter, the Bill).

On November 11, 2020 the decree amending certain articles of the Immigration Act and the Refugees, Complementary Protection and Political Asylum Regarding Child Immigrants Act was published in the Official Federal Gazette, with the primary purpose of promoting, protecting and defending the human rights of child and adolescent immigrants.

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.