MEXICO Law and Practice Contributed by: Jesús Aldrin Rojas, Miguel Ángel García Piña and Esteban Ollervides Toribio, QCG Transfer Pricing
Mexico also participates in enhanced co-operation mechanisms, including bilateral and, to a lesser extent, multilateral advance pricing agreements. Fully fledged joint audits remain uncommon in practice. During the audit process, communication is gen - erally maintained through formal and institutional channels between the competent authorities. This includes structured exchanges of information and technical meetings, which ensure ongoing co-ordina - tion throughout the audit. Nevertheless, the process remains largely authority driven. 6.4 International Compliance Assessment Programme (ICAP) Mexico does not currently participate in the OECD International Compliance Assurance Programme (ICAP) or in similar multilateral voluntary risk assess - ment programmes. ICAP is a voluntary multilateral risk assessment and assurance programme intended to facilitate open and co-operative engagement between multinational enterprise groups and tax administra - tions across multiple jurisdictions. However, Mexico is not listed among the tax administrations that formally participate in the programme at this time. Nevertheless, Mexico does engage in other forms of international co-operation and multilateral risk man - agement. These include bilateral, and to a lesser extent multilateral, advance pricing agreements, mutual agreement procedures, and structured exchanges of information under OECD based instruments. Together, these mechanisms allow for a degree of co-ordination and early risk assessment in cross border transfer pricing matters. 7. Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) 7.1 Programmes Allowing for Rulings Regarding Transfer Pricing Mexico has a well-established Advance Pricing Agree - ment programme, which initially allocated a significant portion of its resources to the maquiladora industry. The regulatory framework for obtaining APAs, whether unilateral, bilateral, or multilateral, is primarily set out in Articles 34 and 34 A of the Federal Tax Code (CFF).
The Mexican APA programme is limited to trans - fer pricing matters. However, domestic legislation includes a legal mechanism known as a “ lesividad ” judgment. Through this process, the tax authority may revoke its own resolution approving an APA if it deter - mines that the resolution is harmful to the public inter - est or inconsistent with applicable tax laws. The legal basis for lesividad proceedings is found in Article 36, first paragraph, of the Federal Tax Code. This provision states that individual administrative resolutions favourable to a taxpayer may be modified only by the Federal Court of Administrative Justice through a proceeding initiated by the tax authorities themselves. Article 36 was amended in November 2025 to refine the authority’s discretionary power to review and, on a one time basis, modify or revoke tax assessments issued in the taxpayer’s favour. 7.2 Administration of Programmes The Mexican APA programme is administered by the Tax Administration Service (SAT), through the Gen - eral Administration of Large Taxpayers and its Central Administration for Transfer Pricing Audits. 7.3 Co-Ordination Between the APA Process and Mutual Agreement Procedures Mexico has signed numerous double taxation trea - ties, which include specific clauses for the negotiation of Mutual Agreement Procedures. These provisions allow the SAT to co-ordinate with other tax adminis - trations to resolve tax disputes or negotiate bilateral/ multilateral APAs. 7.4 Limits on Taxpayers/Transactions Eligible for an APA In Mexico, APAs are regulated under Article 34-A of the Federal Tax Code. These agreements allow tax - payers to establish in advance, and on a binding basis, the methodology for determining transfer pric - ing in transactions with related parties. Although the regulations do not explicitly restrict the types of taxpayers or transactions eligible for an APA, in practice the SAT evaluates each request based on a range of factors. These factors include the complex - ity of the transactions, the volume of operations, the availability of comparable information, and the tax -
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