Background on the Federal Fiscal Prosecutor’s Office and its Relevance
The Federal Fiscal Prosecutor’s Office (PFF) is a crucial institution in Mexico responsible for ensuring compliance with federal tax laws and prosecuting tax-related offenses. Grisel Galeano, the head of this office, recently reported on their efforts to combat fake invoicing schemes, also known as “factureras.” These illicit activities have cost the Mexican government billions of pesos over the years.
Details of Denunciations Against Fake Invoicing Schemes
Over the course of three years, the PFF filed a total of 59 denunciations against fake invoicing schemes, amounting to 54.688 billion pesos, according to Galeano’s statement during a hearing with the Commission of Finance and Public Credit in the Chamber of Deputies. The purpose was to discuss the Income Tax Law Initiative (ILIF) 2026 and the Miscellaneous Fiscal Items.
- 2022: Denunciations totaled 17 billion pesos.
- 2023: Additional denunciations worth 21.7 billion pesos were filed.
- 2024: Denunciations amounted to 10 billion pesos.
- 2025 (to date): Another 5.6 billion pesos’ worth of denunciations have been filed.
Galeano emphasized that these figures equate to full budgets of entire Mexican states, which could have funded hospitals, roads, universities, and scholarships. She stressed that no one should hide behind legal loopholes and that the proposed amendments aim to close evasion doors rather than pressure compliant taxpayers.
“Black List” and its Significance
The “black list,” established in 2014, tracks entities involved in fake invoicing schemes. By August of the previous year, this list contained a total of 11,028 registered entities.
Proposed Modifications to the Federal Fiscal Code (CFF)
The 2026 Economic Package proposes several amendments to the CFF to strengthen the fight against fake invoicing schemes, enabling the application of preventive detention.
- Aligning the CFF with Article 19 of the Constitution, which mandates preventive detention for any activity related to false fiscal receipts.
- Introducing express home visits for tax authorities to verify if issued fiscal receipts correspond to genuine, verifiable operations.
Tax authorities will have 24 days to conduct these home visits if they suspect a company is issuing false fiscal receipts. The targeted entity will then have an opportunity to respond and prove the legitimacy of the operations behind the issued receipts.
- Failure to provide satisfactory evidence could result in permanent revocation of digital signature certificates and potential criminal charges, leading to a three to six-year prison sentence.
- Another proposed power for tax authorities is denying registration to the Federal Register of Taxpayers (RFC) to individuals linked with front companies.
Key Questions and Answers
- What are fake invoicing schemes (factureras)? These are illicit activities where companies generate false invoices to claim tax deductions or refunds, defrauding the government of substantial sums.
- Who is Grisel Galeano and why is she relevant? Grisel Galeano is the head of Mexico’s Federal Fiscal Prosecutor’s Office, responsible for combating tax-related offenses, including fake invoicing schemes.
- What are the proposed amendments to the CFF? The amendments aim to strengthen the fight against fake invoicing schemes by aligning the CFF with constitutional provisions, enabling preventive detention, and allowing express home visits to verify the legitimacy of fiscal receipts.
