About

Jorge Montañez is a Partner at Despacho Bufete Jorge Montañez y Asoc, S.C.. He has over 20 years of practice in preventive counseling and litigation in Customs and Foreign Trade matters in Mexico.

Previously he was Director of Legal Procedures at the Customs General Directorate, and Central Administrator responsible for legal and regulatory matters at the Customs General Administration, among other positions that he held for almost 20 years in different areas related to tax and Customs matters at the Federal Government and
the then Federal Tax Court, now Federal Court of Administrative Justice.

He is well-known in national media as a legalexpert on customs and foreign trade matters.

Practice Focus Areas

– Preventive advice and legal assistance in:
• Compliance assessment in customs and foreign trade matters for importing and exporting companies, IMMEX Program companies, transportation companies, customs brokers, warehouses and other service providers related to customs and foreign trade matters.
• Customs valuation, tariff classification, non-tariff restrictions and regulations, NOM’s, compensatory fees, Exhibit 24, Exhibit 31, treaties for free trade signed by
Mexico, and generally topics related to customs matters and foreign trade.
• Projects related to preventive or corrective measures previous to customs authoritie’s review acts, or assistance during customs authoritie’s; review acts.;
• Certification for VAT-IEPS and OEA certification before SAT.
• Interpretation of regulatory amendments in customs and foreign trade.
– Preventive audit focused on risk reduction and operational cost reduction, in the framework of Law.
– Assistance in the development of review acts by customs authorities or the Ministry of Economy in matters related to customs and foreign trade.
– Litigation
• Definition of defense strategies and preparation of legal defenses against SAT or Ministry of Economy authoritie’s; acts, mainly on customs and foreign trade
matters, such as determinations on tax credits, customs broker patents suspension or cancellation, IMMEX Program suspension or cancellation, origin verifications in connection with free trade agreements, among other acts of authority.

Career

He has successfully advised national and foreign importing and exporting companies for more than 20 years, in different areas such as electrical, electronic, auto-parts, toys, chemical, medical equipment, among others, customs agencies, transportation companies, airlines, and IMMEX Program companies. Due to the quality and expertise of his legal services, he has supported several law firms, accountants and economists in Mexico and the United States of America.

For more than 20 years he has been an advisor in customs and foreign trade matters to the National Council of the Maquiladora and Manufacturing Export Industry, INDEX. He has participated in working groups with various organizations and SAT authorities, the Ministry of Economy and the Mexican Congress, among other public entities, on institutional procedures for amending laws, regulations and administrative regulations on customs and foreign trade matters, as well as on procedures related to the due interpretation of such provisions.

Education

Law graduate with specialization studies in Constitutional Law and Tax Law, as well as a Master’s Degree in Law. He has been Professor of Constitutional Law and Customs Law in several institutions, as well as professor by competitive examination in Tax Law at ENEP Acatlan, UNAM.

Languages

Spanish and English