Expired import permit: an amparo will not keep operations running
Suspension in indirect amparo. It is not available to let the complainant keep operating after an administrative permit expires, since it would have constitutive effects.
Official heading (Spanish): SUSPENSIÓN EN AMPARO INDIRECTO. ES IMPROCEDENTE PARA QUE LA QUEJOSA SIGA OPERANDO DESPUÉS DE QUE CONCLUYA LA VIGENCIA DE UN PERMISO ADMINISTRATIVO, PUES TENDRÍA EFECTOS CONSTITUTIVOS.
The ruling
An importer sued Mexico’s National Customs Agency over its failure to answer a request to renew an already expired natural gas import permit, and sought suspension to keep importing. The Collegiate Circuit Court denied it: that effect would be constitutive, recognizing a right the company lacked when it filed, which article 131 of the Amparo Law bars.
Our take
The same court issued two more precedents from this case: suspension cannot grant more than the final ruling, which would at most compel an answer, and there is no prima facie case when silence may amount to a negativa ficta under article 37 of the Federal Tax Code. Together, they mean an amparo for official silence will not protect business continuity for an importer whose permit has lapsed. The reasoning is technically sound, but the company bears the cost of the authority’s delay. The real defense comes earlier: request renewal well in advance and document it.
What to do
- Keep a calendar of import permit expirations and request renewal months in advance.
- If the authority stays silent, consider challenging the negativa ficta rather than filing a right-of-petition amparo.
- Prepare a supply continuity plan in case the permit expires without an answer.
Details
- Court
- Tribunales Colegiados de Circuito
- Type
- Isolated precedent
- Identifier
- XV.6o.4 K (12a.)
- Digital registry
- 2032829
- Published
- October 23, 2026
- Area
- Foreign trade and customs
- 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.