SAT may appeal TFJA rulings that annul on form if they also decided the merits
Tax review appeal (revisión fiscal). It is available when TFJA judgments annul the challenged act for formal defects but their reasoning shows the merits were also decided.
Official heading (Spanish): RECURSO DE REVISIÓN FISCAL. PROCEDE CUANDO LAS SENTENCIAS DEL TRIBUNAL FEDERAL DE JUSTICIA ADMINISTRATIVA IMPUGNADAS DECLAREN LA NULIDAD DEL ACTO IMPUGNADO POR VICIOS DE FORMA, PERO QUE DE SUS RAZONAMIENTOS SE ADVIERTA QUE ADEMÁS SE RESOLVIÓ EL FONDO DEL ASUNTO.
The ruling
The TFJA annulled, for inadequate legal grounds and reasoning, a ruling that deemed a taxpayer to have withdrawn an income tax refund request, but it also decided the merits. The Collegiate Circuit Court held that a tax review appeal is available under article 63, section III, subsection a), of the Federal Contentious Administrative Procedure Law, although arguments on the formal defects are ineffective.
Our take
For taxpayers who win before the TFJA, this reduces the certainty of victory. Second Chamber binding precedents barred tax review appeals against purely formal annulments; this precedent clarifies that, if the judgment also grants or denies the substantive right, the authority may appeal that part. In practice, a judgment recognizing a refund right is not final until the appeal period expires. Plan for it, especially when the refund's cash flow is expected.
What to do
- Do not book a TFJA-recognized refund as final until the tax review appeal period expires.
- Prepare to defend the merits on appeal, since formal-defect arguments will be ineffective.
- Factor this risk into cash flow projections for refunds in litigation.
Details
- Court
- Collegiate Circuit Court
- Type
- Isolated precedent
- Identifier
- XI.1o.A.T.2 A (12a.)
- Digital registry
- 2032238
- Published
- June 5, 2026
- Area
- Tax litigation
- 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.