Annual Operation Certificate

The hydrocarbon, transportation, chemical, metallurgical, automotive, energy, cement and lime, asbestos, glass, agricultural and hazardous waste treatment industries that generate emissions into the atmosphere, hazardous waste and/or discharge wastewater into rivers, lakes, the sea or subsoil are required to submit each year to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (“SEMARNAT”) the Annual Operation Certificate (“COA”) report.

The COA is a reporting instrument on emissions, generation and discharge of pollutants into the air, water, soil and subsoil. 

This is one of the most important environmental compliances, since, with the information collected, SEMARNAT updates the database of the Registry of Emissions and Transfer of Pollutants for statistical purposes and national pollution control.

In relation to this obligation, it is important to consider the following:

1. Who must submit the COA? The hydrocarbon, transportation, chemical, metallurgical, automotive, energy, cement and lime, asbestos, glass, agricultural and hazardous waste treatment industries that (i) in their processes have fixed sources of federal jurisdiction, (ii) are large generators of hazardous waste (10 tons or more per year), (iii) provide hazardous waste management services, (iv) discharge wastewater into receiving bodies considered national waters, and/or (v) generate 25,000 tons or more of carbon dioxide equivalent of emissions of compounds or greenhouse gases.

2. When does it show up? The COA must be submitted annually during the period from March 1 to June 30, and the previous year must be reported. It is important to note that the system closes on June 30 at 24:00 hours (CDMX) and does not allow late submission. In our experience, the system tends to become saturated during the last days of the submission period, so we recommend that you submit your application on time.

3. How does it present itself? Electronically on the official platform that SEMARNAT created for its presentation: https://sinatec.semarnat.gob.mxThe generator must register on the platform and have a user, for which he/she must have the company information on hand, as well as that of his/her legal representative and, where applicable, the data entry specialist, and enter the corresponding documentation in PDF format so that SEMARNAT can validate it within one business day.

4. What are the consequences of not filing or reporting incorrect information? If the COA is not submitted in a timely manner, SEMARNAT could impose a fine of $51,870.00. a $311,220.00 pesos. In the event that SEMARNAT detects that incorrect information was reported, it could impose a fine of up to $1 pesos. The above, considering that the unit of measurement and update is $037,400.00 pesos for 103.74. Since the presentation of the COA is the endorsement of the Single Environmental License (LAU), not presenting it would additionally imply processing the obtaining of a new license.

5. Do I get any response from SEMARNAT? No, only the electronic proof of submission is obtained to prove compliance. It is necessary to keep the proof of submission for the last 5 years and show them in case the authority requires them. However, SEMARNAT may require any clarification on the information reported within 20 business days following its submission, and will give the company a period of 15 days to respond.

6. Is it useful for anything else? Yes, in addition to being a compliance report, companies can use the COA to assess whether the information in their logs matches that in their manifests, as well as whether their periodic reports on emissions, discharges and generation are within the quantities authorized for the generator.

7. Is there a similar obligation in the federal entities? Emissions, discharges and transfers under state jurisdiction (such as special handling waste) are subject to annual reporting by the entity in which they are generated, regulated by applicable local provisions. Some entities require that, once the report is submitted, the printed electronic receipt be displayed at the counter. The deadline for submitting the state report usually coincides with the federal report, with some exceptions such as the state of Baja California, which requires compliance from January 1 to March 31.

8. Additional aspects to consider. For the correct display of the platform's content, we recommend using the Google Chrome browser, versions 44 to 50 and a minimum resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels. We recommend constantly saving changes, as the platform only allows browsing the site for periods of 30 minutes. Afterwards, it is necessary to log in again.