Legal Entities May File the Notice of Suspension of Activities before the Mexican Tax Administration Service

On June 6, 2013 a new case decision was published in the Judicial Weekly of the Federation (May 2013 – Page1742) regarding the interpretation of Article 27 of the Mexican Federal Tax Code and Article 25 of itsRegulations, which allow legal entities to file a notice of suspension of activities before the Mexican TaxAdministration Service (Servicio de Administración Tributaria, SAT), thus ending a pattern which, until suchdate, had been approved by the tax authority. The title of this case decision is “NOTICE OF SUSPENSION OFACTIVITIES. SUCH MAY BE FILED BY INDIVIDUALS AND LEGAL ENTITIES (INTERPRETATION INACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 26, SECTION IV, PARAGRAPH A) OF THE REGULATIONS TO THEMEXICAN FEDERAL TAX CODE, issued by the Collegiate Court on Administrative Matters of the SixthCircuit, which expressly sets forth the ability of legal entities to file the notice of suspension of activities underthe terms of the Mexican Federal Tax Code Regulations in Articles 25, Section V, and 26, Section IV, paragrapha), even though Article 26 refers only to individuals. The purpose of this “notice of suspension of activities” is toallow individuals and legal entities registered with the Federal Taxpayer Registry to inform the SAT that theywill cease to conduct commercial activities for which they were previously registered. Prior to the court’sdecision, legal entities were allowed to file such “notice of suspension of activities” until December 7, 2009,when SAT eliminated this option and took the official position that Article 26 of the above Regulations allowedonly individuals to do so. The suspension of activities for legal entities can be a temporary alternative to thedissolution and liquidation of the entity.