Charging to search municipal archives breaches tax proportionality
Tax proportionality. Fees for searching documents in municipal archives or offices violate this principle.
Official heading (Spanish): PROPORCIONALIDAD TRIBUTARIA. LOS COBROS DE DERECHOS POR SERVICIOS DE BÚSQUEDA DE DOCUMENTOS EN ARCHIVOS U OFICINAS MUNICIPALES VULNERAN ESE PRINCIPIO.
The ruling
The National Human Rights Commission challenged 2025 revenue laws of several Oaxaca municipalities that charged for searching information produced or held in municipal archives and for certifying it. The SCJN held that search fees breach the tax proportionality principle of article 31, section IV, of the Constitution, because they bear no reasonable relation to the cost of the service.
Our take
Here the SCJN is not talking about transparency but about fees as taxes: locating documents is part of ordinary administrative work and does not create a cost that justifies a stand-alone charge. The effect reaches any municipal procedure, not only information requests: certificates, permit histories or construction files. Companies that deal often with municipalities pay these fees without question because they are small. Added up, they are not. Our view: review the local revenue law and, where searches are billed separately, demand justification or challenge the charge.
What to do
- Check whether the municipal revenue law bills document searches as a separate item.
- Pool recurring filings and assess whether the annual amount justifies an amparo against the fee.
- Give precise details of the requested document to limit any additional charge.
Details
- Court
- SCJN Plenary
- Type
- Binding precedent (jurisprudencia)
- Identifier
- P./J. 92/2026 (12a.)
- Digital registry
- 2032176
- Published
- May 22, 2026
- Area
- Amparo and constitutional
- View official source ↗
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Prepared by Artegia for information only; not legal advice. Headings in English are unofficial translations. The official text is the one published in the Semanario Judicial de la Federación or the TFJA journal.