On April 13, the Technical Council of the Mexican Social Security Institute [in Spanish: el Consejo Técnico del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social], through a press release, announced the  legal and administrative tools that already exist for deferring the payment of the employer/worker dues; and within which are included the following:

First: An installment payment agreement for the Mexican Social Security Institute as provided for in Articles 40-C and 40-D of the Social Security Act [in Spanish: la Ley del Seguro Social]. In this regard, counselling skills are established to aid in the signing of the aforementioned agreements, with the understanding that the initial covering cost will be 20% of the principal amount of the employer´s dues and 100% from the worker. The remainder will be deferred up to a maximum of 48 months.

The agreed upon installment payment is not subject to any change, and if a payment is received beyond the fixed period of time, it will incur a restatement and surcharges.

The benefit of signing this agreement is that the interest rate for the monthly period varies between 1.26% and 1.82%, based upon the period that is chosen (12, 24, and greater than 24 months), from the moment it is executed.

Second: No type of guarantees are required for the signing of the aforementioned agreement, as stated in the Technical Council Agreement [in Spanish: el Acuerdo del Consejo Técnico], number ACDO. AS2. HCT.300419/150.P.DIR, from April 30, 2019.

Third: For covering in a timely manner the agreed upon commitments, fines may be reduced as stated in the Technical Council Agreement 187/2003, published on July 15, 2003.

Fourth: Article 31 of the Social Security Act foresees a reduction of up to 7 days due to absenteeism, in cases of employee absence where an employment relationship exists.  For those days, the dues corresponding to the Sickness and Maternity Insurance [in Spanish:  el Seguro de Enfermedades y Maternidad] will be paid.

Fifth: In accordance with the public health state of emergency on the grounds of force majeure, ordered by the health authorities due to the illness caused by the SARS-COV2 (COVID-19) virus, non-working days are defined as in-company training procedures, legal formalities, hearings, notifications, or tax audit notices. The period is from March 31, 2020, and the date provided by the Technical Council will determine if there are grounds of termination that gave rise to the same.

We suggest that you carefully analyze the adherence agreement regarding the installment payment of dues of the Mexican Social Security Institute, if the circumstances of your company so require it, since payments beyond the period of time will incur restatements, surcharges, and fines.

Please contact us if you have any doubts regarding this matter. We will be happy to work with you in resolving them.