JANUARY 2011 EDITION ARCHIVE

• • Legal Updates

    Exemptions to Requirements to Audit Financial Statements

    Companies required to audit their financial statements through an authorized public accountant should keep in mind that, in conformity with the new provisions established in Article 32-A, Section I of the Federal Fiscal Code (Código Fiscal de la Federación)  in certain circumstances taxpayers are now allowed to opt out of the obligation of having audited financial records. Certain taxpayers may elect not to have their financial statements audited, so long as they make such election... [Read More]

  • Recent Case Decision – Promissory Notes and Place of Execution

    Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice (Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación or SCJN) recently published in the Judicial Weekly of the Federation case decision number 1a./J.65/2010, entitled “Promissory Notes. The requirement to establish place of execution, according to the terms of section V of article 170 of the General Law of Credit Instruments and Transactions, is satisfied when a federal state within the Mexican Republic has been designated as the place such promissory note... [Read More]

  • LEGAL UPDATES - Important Amendments to IMMEX Decree

    On December 24, 2010, Mexico published important amendments to the Decree for the Development of the Manufacturing, Maquiladora and Export Services Industry (IMMEX Decree) in the Official Journal of the Federation (Diario Oficial de la Federación or DOF). Among other important points, the amendments eliminate the ALTEX and ECEX Decrees, establish a new definition for the concept of “maquila operations,” as well as provide new causes for cancellation and suspension of IMMEX programs... [Read More]

  • PRACTIQUE LEGAL - What Happened to the Maquila Program?

    Many are asking what has happened to Mexico’s maquila program, now so elegantly called the IMMEX program. New amendments to the Decree that governs operation of IMMEX programs were recently published in Mexico. This is the program that thousands of companies have used to establish manufacturing operations in Mexico, mainly along the U.S./Mexico border. The rules have changed so much that some are asking what is the real usefulness of the IMMEX program. Curiously, the maquila program (now IMMEX... [Read More]

  • Business & Politics Outlook

    New Hope for Cross-Border Trucking

    One of the pending provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is the current hold on Mexican trucks being able to enter the U.S. to provide cross-border cargo services of goods exported from Mexico. U.S. authorities have raised seeminingly endless barriers to impede cross-border trucking. As recently reported in the CCN Mexico Report©, Mexico now imposes countervailing duties on certain agricultural and other goods supplied by the U.S. Many leading promoters of free trade... [Read More]

  • Political Thermometer

    The chilly winds of a Mexican winter have not decreased the high political temperature that prevails at the beginning of this New Year. The three main Mexican political parties, the National Action Party (PAN), the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) raised the temperature in the political environment at the very beginning of 2011. The PAN and President Felipe Calderon unexpectedly decided to reorganize the President’s cabinet. In a surprise... [Read More]

  • 300 Palabras - Good News in the New Year

    by: Dr. Mario Melgar-Adalid JP Morgan Chase, a financial group of notable influence in the world economy, has issued an encouraging outlook on perspectives for the Mexican economy in 2011. Its bulletin contrasts with news reports about Mexico that invariably mention problems related to violence and the high cost of the battle against organized crime. The JP Morgan Chase report allows one to maintain hope that 2011 will be better than the year before, and that it could be the start of a sustained... [Read More]

  • Economic Indicators

    Economic Indicators

    The following are economic indicators as of January 24, 2011:  

    Pesos/Dollar Exchange Rate: $12.0482 pesos per dollar.

    Mexican Stock Exchange: The Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) closed at 37,667.90 points.

    Interest Rates:  The Average Interbank Interest Rate (TIEE) for a 28-day period was at 4.8650%.

  • Mexico IP Info

    Non-Registrable Descriptive Trademarks

    There are prohibitions for registering certain words, figures or three-dimensional forms as trademarks.  Sections IV and VI of Article 90 of the Mexican Industrial Property Law contain the following two such restrictions, according to which the Mexican Industrial Property Institute (Instituto Mexicano de Propiedad Industrial or IMPI) will deny registration: (i) those “words, figures or three-dimensional forms that, considered along with their characteristics, are descriptive of products... [Read More]