Key items:
1. Who does this obligation impact?
As of 1 January 2025, individuals and legal entities who meet any of the following criteria are obliged to comply with volumetric controls:
- Handle a monthly volume equal to or greater than 75,714 liters of petroleum products per year and do not have a permit issued by the Ministry of Energy ("SENER") or the Energy Regulatory Commission ("CRE").
- Have fixed facilities for the reception of natural gas for self-consumption with an annual consumption greater than 5,000 Gigajoules.
- Have a CRE permit or an import permit issued by SENER.
2. Key items of the Tax Resolution
Among others, the Tax Resolution also includes (i) certain characteristics that must be met by the equipment and computer programs to carry out volumetric controls, (ii) specific requirements to carry out volumetric controls (i.e., installation of equipment, reporting and certifications) and (iii) verification processes to review the compliance of the obligation.
3. In case of failure, is there any sanction?
Yes. In summary, sanctions may be (i) from an administrative perspective, based on the regulatory non-compliance (i.e., fines and/or revocation of permits) and/or (ii) from a tax perspective (i.e., fines, presumptive determination of tax income and up to three to eight years in prison for non-compliance with volumetric controls).
4. Next steps
It is important to clearly determine whether this new modification to the obligation has an impact on your business operations and, if so, how does compliance should be observed. To do this, the specific situation regarding consumption volumes, facilities, supply, procurement and permit regime must be evaluated and analyzed on case-by-case basis.
If you find yourself in any of the assumptions described above, we suggest (i) evaluating possible impacts and risks, as well as (ii) determining the possibility of adjusting processes to comply with the regulatory obligation and/or (iii) analyzing a possible course of action from a litigation perspective to challenge this amendment, seek a temporary or permanent suspension of its applicability and know the key deadlines to submit the challenge.
5. Is there any legal term to challenge this amendment?
Yes, it is important to consider that the deadline to submit any means of defense (i.e., amparo action) is 30 business days following the reform's effective date or 15 business days from the first act of application.
Our Firm will be happy to discuss any doubt.
