Government of Mexico made official the regulation of “chocolate cars” in 10 states

The controversy over “chocolate” cars, as irregular vehicles entering the United States are called in Mexico, has been revived with the government’s announcement of regularizing them to try to collect more taxes in the face of opposition from the industry.

(MEXICO – FEDERAL GOVERNMENT).- This Wednesday, January 19, a decree was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) by means of which the regularization of used vehicles of foreign origin, also known as “chocolate cars”, was made official in 10 states of the country through administrative facilities and stimuli. This provision will be in force from this January 19 until July 22, 2022.

The program will benefit the owners of this type of vehicle who do not have a document proving their legal stay in the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Nuevo León, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Durango, Michoacan and Nayarit; which may be definitively imported without requiring a certificate of origin, prior permission from the Ministry of Economy, or registration in the Register of Importers.

The agreement, published in the DOF by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) and by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), stipulated as a requirement that “the model year of the vehicle be eight or more years prior to that in which the definitive importation is carried out” and that a use of 2 thousand 500 pesos is covered.

Likewise, the benefit may be obtained as long as the owners who carry out the importation are natural persons, of legal age, residents of the previously mentioned states and present a protest under protest to tell the truth that the vehicle is not in the assumptions provided for in article 5 of the decree, which are the following:

– That due to its characteristics or technical aspects, its circulation in the country of origin or in Mexico is restricted or prohibited.

– That the vehicle to be imported is luxury or sports, nor is it an armored vehicle

– That do not comply with the physical, mechanical or environmental protection conditions, in accordance with the applicable federal or local provisions.

– That they have been reported as stolen or that are related to the commission of a crime in an investigation file or criminal proceeding.

Likewise, it was specified that “for the final import procedure of the vehicles referred to in this Decree, it will require their physical presentation before the customs authority” and that the owners of the vehicles that will be definitively imported must comply with the registration procedure indicated in the Public Vehicle Registry Law and other provisions on the matter.

“The income obtained from the uses referred to in article 3, section V of this Decree will be allocated by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, preferably, for paving actions in the corresponding municipalities according to a percentage distribution based on in the number of regularized and registered vehicles according to the domicile of the importer”, was detailed in the DOF.

On January 6, López Obrador admitted that there is a delay in the regularization process of the so-called “chocolate cars” in the north of the country. This despite the fact that since last year the decree was issued to regulate them. Due to this, he made a call to the officials in charge of executing said task, to hurry up to resolve the delay.

TYT Newsroom