Expired annual revenue law: the Supreme Court dismisses the constitutional dispute
Constitutional controversy. Dismissal is warranted when only an annual law is challenged and its effects have ceased.
Official heading (Spanish): CONTROVERSIA CONSTITUCIONAL. PROCEDE EL SOBRESEIMIENTO CUANDO SÓLO SE IMPUGNA UNA NORMA DE VIGENCIA ANUAL Y HAN CESADO SUS EFECTOS.
The ruling
The Federal Executive challenged fees in the 2025 Revenue Law of San Pedro Cholula, Puebla, for permits required of businesses that store or sell gas, gasoline and other hydrocarbons, arguing an intrusion into federal powers. The SCJN held that if the annual law has expired by the time of judgment and no concrete effects remain, the case must be dismissed, because an invalidity ruling would have no practical effect.
Our take
The ruling does not decide whether municipalities may charge these permits to gas stations and gas distributors; it simply avoids the merits. For the energy sector, the practical effect is that disputes between levels of government offer no shield: by the time the SCJN rules, the fiscal year is over. A company's protection still lies in its own timely amparo against each revenue law. We accept the procedural logic, but it leaves a gap: contested fees can be repeated year after year without a ruling on the merits. Do not rely on other parties' litigation.
What to do
- If you run fuel stations or gas distribution, assess your own amparo against each municipal revenue law.
- Check whether the challenged fee reappears in the following year's revenue law.
Details
- Court
- SCJN Plenary
- Type
- Binding precedent (jurisprudencia)
- Identifier
- P./J. 81/2026 (12a.)
- Digital registry
- 2032156
- Published
- May 22, 2026
- Area
- Amparo and constitutional
- View official source ↗
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Prepared by Artegia for information only; not legal advice. Headings in English are unofficial translations. The official text is the one published in the Semanario Judicial de la Federación or the TFJA journal.