The Supreme Court of Justice of Mexico recently held that customs duty classifications contained in the Law of General Taxes on Importation and Exportation, which establish the payment of fixed duties on the importation and exportation of products which use as a reference the units of products, and not the value of the goods imported, are unconstitutional. Such ruling was issued based on the fact that the invalid provisions do not link the duty imposed to the taxable base of the goods and do not take into account the contributing capacity of the importer or exporter, which violates the principal of tax proportionality contained in Article 31, Section IV of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States. This ruling introduces the possibility of protesting those customs classification sections that establish payment of fixed duties based on the units of the article being imported, which do not pertain to the contributing capacity of the taxpayer.
