Basham, Ringe y Correa, S.C.
  March 27, 2006 - Mexico

New Explanatory Notes for the Tariff Classification of Goods

On March 6, 2006, the Ministry of the Economy published the Explanatory Notes for the Tariff Classification of Goods in the Federal Official Gazette, after a delay of over four years from the date of publication of the Federal Law on Import and Export Duties (“FLIED”) on January 18, 2002. These Explanatory Rules should have been published at the same time. The Explanatory Notes contain an encyclopedic compendium that allows the interpretation and application of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (“Harmonized System”), an international agreement that Mexico has signed and that was issued by the World Customs Organization (“WCO”). These new Explanatory Notes substitute for those published on June 5, 2000 but which had lost accuracy over time due to advances in science and technology. They also contain changes drafted by the WCO up to May 2005. The Explanatory Notes entered into force on March 7, 2006, and as stated before, must be used to determine the classification of goods as expressly provided under the FLIED. We encourage our friends and clients to revise their classification of goods, given that the delay in the publication of these new Explanatory Notes may result in inconsistencies. Lawyers in the Trade and Customs Practice Group of the firm would be glad to assist you in further clarification of this or any other issue: Gerardo Hernández ([email protected]), Sergio Barajas ([email protected]), José Luis Álvarez ([email protected]), Turenna Ramírez ([email protected]), and Luis Fernando Martínez ([email protected]) [Monterrey Office]