Amendments to Official Mexican Standards for Importation Going into Effect

On October 23, 2018, a Promulgation was published in the Official Journal of the Federation, which sets forth several amendments to the General Rules and Criteria applicable to Foreign Trade Matters issued by the Department of Economy, particularly with respect to Annex 2.4.1. (Promulgation of Official Mexican Standards). Pursuant to these amendments 64 new Official Mexican Standards or NOMs, per its Spanish acronym were added. Compliance with these new NOMs may not be exempted by means of the document commonly referred to as a no-marketing letter (“carta de no comercialización” in Spanish) once the products subject to such NOMs enter Mexico. It is imperative for companies that import and were previously able to qualify for an exemption from compliance with the NOMs by means of a so-called no marketing letter, to understand the effects of these amendments. Companies must plan the importation of such products in advance and have the corresponding certifications to demonstrate compliance with the NOMs with respect to the importation of such products, as well as evaluate the cost of such transactions.These limitations will become effective June 3, 2019, in accordance with an amendment to the referenced Promulgation published in the Official Journal of the Federation on February 28, 2019.