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ES Download Document | February 2022
On February 8, 2022, the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (“SEMARNAT”) published, in the Official Gazette of the Federation (“DOF”), the “Agreement by which the Procedure for the supervision and surveillance of the Official Mexican Standards (“NOMs”) in the field of Petroleum Products, Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Natural Gas, subject to observance by the regulated holders of transportation permits by means other than Liquefied Petroleum Gas pipelines, as well as Distribution and Retail Sales of Petroleum Products, Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Natural Gas” (the “Agreement”).
The Agreement abrogates the following agreements:
- "Procedure for the supervision and vigilance of the NOMs in the field of Petroleum Products, Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Natural Gas, subject to observance by the regulated holders of transportation permits by means other than Liquefied Petroleum Gas pipelines, as well as Distribution and Sale to the Public of Petroleum Products, Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Natural Gas,” published in the DOF on April 3, 2018.
- Agreement by which the single format of Technical Report Type C (Installation) - Distribution of liquefied petroleum gas through a distribution plant is disclosed, applicable to the procedure for the supervision and surveillance of NOMs in the field of petroleum products, liquefied gas of petroleum and natural gas, subject to compliance by the regulated holders of transportation permits by means other than liquefied petroleum gas pipelines, as well as distribution and sale to the public of petroleum products, liquefied petroleum gas, and natural gas,” published in the DOF on November 29, 2018.
- "Agreement by which the unique format of Technical Report Type D Dispensing to the public of liquefied petroleum gas is made known, through a service station with a specific purpose, applicable to the Procedure for the supervision and surveillance of the NOMs in the field of petroleum products, liquefied petroleum gas and natural gas, subject to compliance by the regulated holders of transportation permits by means other than liquefied petroleum gas pipelines, as well as distribution and sale to the public of petroleum products, liquefied petroleum gas, and natural gas,” published in the DOF on November 29, 2018.
The Quality Infrastructure Law (“LIC”) establishes that the NOMs must be reviewed by the corresponding Standardization Authority[1] at least every five years after their publication in the DOF or that of their last modification through a systematic review process in terms of the LIC Regulation. In this sense, a NOM must establish the infrastructure for Conformity Assessment[2] applicable to it, which is of the utmost importance since this is the determination of the degree of compliance with the NOMs. Regarding Conformity Assessment, there are Conformity Assessment Bodies[3], who are in charge of assessing the NOM in question.
It is important to mention that the Agreement does not exempt regulated subjects[4] from complying with the obligations contained in the various NOMs and administrative provisions that regulate said activities in the hydrocarbon sector.
The Agreement entered into force the day after its publication in the DOF.
[1] LIC Article 4, VI.- Standardization Authority: to the competent dependencies or entities of the Federal Public Administration that have attributions or express faculties to carry out normalization and standardization activities.
[2] LIC Article 4, XI.- Quality Assessment: the technical process that allows demonstrating compliance with the Official Mexican Norms, Standards, International Norms referred to therein, or other legal provisions. It includes, among others, sampling, testing, inspection, evaluation, and certification procedures.
[3] LIC Article 4, XVII.- Conformity Assessment Bodies: to the person accredited by an Accreditation Entity or, where appropriate, by the Standardization Authority and, in the case of Official Mexican Norms, Standards, International Norms there references or other legal provisions; If the accreditation is carried out by an Accreditation Entity, the Organization must be approved by the competent Standardization Authority, to carry out the Conformity Assessment.
[4] Holders of permits for transportation by means other than pipelines for Liquefied Petroleum Gas, as well as Distribution and Retail Sales of Petroleum Products, Liquefied Petroleum Gas, and Natural Gas.
If you require additional information, please contact the responsible partner for your affairs or one of the lawyers mentioned below:
Mexico City Office
Lic. Vicente Grau A. (Partner), vgrau@s-s.mx
Lic. Claudia Rodríguez C. (Partner), crodriguez@s-s.mx
Tel: +52 55 5279-5400
Monterrey Office
Lic. Heriberto Garza C. (Partner), hgarza@s-s.mx
Tel: +52 81 8133-6000
Queretaro Office
Lic. José Ramón Ayala A. (Partner) jayala@s-s.mx
Tel: +52 442 290-0290
