As a measure to mitigate the spread and transmission of Covid-19, the Mexican Tax Administration Service (SAT) published in the Federal Official Gazette the First Modification to the Miscellaneous Tax Resolution for 2020, whereby terms and deadlines applicable to specific acts and proceedings are suspended from May 4 through 29, 2020.

Few pieces of regulation come to mind that have drawn more hours of interpretation by lawyers, managers and businessmen over the brief span of three weeks. The “Order to establish the extraordinary measures to respond the sanitary emergency caused by the SARS-CoV2 virus” issued by the Ministry of Health on March 31, 2020 (the “March 31 Order”) is one of those rare cases.

During the current health crisis, in order to provide support with useful legal information for Mexicans, Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez participated in the creation of the "Legal Orientation Guide for COVID-19 Derived Affectations". This project was coordinated by .Estándares Pro Bono México, Fundación Barra Mexicana, Appleseed Mexico, Centro Mexicano Pro Bono, which also counted with the support of the Legal Investigations Institute of UNAM.

In light of the emergency situation in Mexico related to COVID-19, and the social distancing measures dictated by the Mexican Government, the National Banking and Securities Commission (the “CNBV”) issued a resolution (the “Resolution”) to grant temporary administrative easing measures to issuers of securities in the Mexican market[1] (the “Easing Measures”).

The directors of a Mexican publicly-traded company must maintain a very proactive involvement in the management of the COVID-19 crisis. In their supervisory role, under the Securities Market Law (Ley del Mercado de Valores, or LMV), they must ensure that the management team gives priority to the safety and well-being of its employees, and implements a plan for the continuity of the Company’s operations.

On 30 March 2020, the Mexican General Health Council (Consejo de Salubridad General) declared the epidemic of the disease generated by the COVID-19 virus a “sanitary emergency for reasons of force majeure”, and established as part of the measures to mitigate the spread and transmission of the virus the immediate suspension of non-essential activities in the public, private and social sectors from March 30 to April 30, 2020.

The Federal Economic Competition Commission (the “COFECE”) published its opinion on the application of the Mexican Competition Law in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic, as well as the declaration of the Federal Government to initiate phase 2 in Mexico.  

Since the World Health Organization declared the pandemic outbreak of the SARS-CoV2 virus (COVID-19) a public health emergency, and given subsequent declarations by the Federal Government, public companies and issuers of securities in the Mexican securities market have had to focus on addressing the most pressing matters, including the wellbeing of their employees and business continuity.

The way in which Mexico has reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic has followed a very different pattern to other nations. The private sector has taken the first steps towards social distancing, while some State Governments and the Federal Government have followed suit.

According to mathematical models, the phase of community transmission in Mexico of COVID-19 is expected to commence on or about March the 20th. To date, social distancing measures adopted by Governmental authorities in Mexico have been limited to orders deriving from ordinary regulatory functions, namely, closure of schools and establishments and banning of large gatherings.

We are living some extraordinary times with the COVID 19 Pandemic.  All of us at Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez are committed to the health and welfare of our communities, and have therefore been monitoring the impact of the Pandemic on our client’s operations, our own operations, and, most importantly, our team.