Third agreement of the Board of Commissioners on the suspension of legal terms for some procedures filed before COFECE*
The Board of Commissioners of the Mexican Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE or Commission) agreed to suspend, from May 6 until May 29, legal terms and deadlines for some of the procedures filed before the Commission. During this period, days will continue to be accounted for as working days, and COFECE’s facilities will remain open from Monday to Friday at regular business hours.
Terms for some procedures had already been suspended on two previous occasions through agreements of the Board of Commissioners published in the Federal Official Gazette (DOF) on March 24 (first agreement) and on April 17 (second agreement) of 2020, with the purpose of decreasing the risk of spreading the COVID-19 disease and protecting the health of the Commission’s staff, as well as economic agents, practitioners and the general public that visit COFECE’s facilities.
This third agreement ratifies that the same procedures and procedural stages established in the second agreement are exempt from the suspension. Moreover, it clarifies that motions presented before the Commission during this period, or that were presented during periods established in the two previous agreements will be considered as filed on June 1st. This agreement does not contravene nor modifies 2020 COFECE’s annual work plan, published in the DOF on December 3, 2019.
Since the emergency began, COFECE – in accordance with recommendations from the World Health Organization and Mexican health authorities – has carried out diverse actions to reduce health risks from COVID-19, for instance, it issued warning letters to the National Chamber of the Sugar and Alcohol Industry and to the National Association of Real Estate Developers to avoid possible agreements between competitors that could harm the competition process; similarly, the Board is holding remote sessions during the emergency and has issued the Emergency Regulatory Provisions to make personal notifications by mail.
Read the full third agreement (in Spanish) and further information issued related to COVID-19.
