MTCXTCAW FISHERY LEGISLATION 



U, Federacion Regional de Sociedades Cooperativas de la Industria Peaquera Sinaloa- 

 Sonora . m.th headquarters in Topolobanipo, Sinaloa — From Yavaros, Sonora to Mazatlan, 

 Sinai oa. 



5 . Federacion Regional de Sociedades Cooperativas de la Industria Pesquera Sur 

 Sinaloa-Nayari t . with headquarters in Escuinapa, Sinaloa — From Uazatlan south to the 

 southern border of Nayarit. 



6. Federacion Regional de Sociedades Cooperativas de la Industria Pesquera Chiapas. 

 Ydth headquarters in Tonala, Chis. — All the coast of Chiapas. 



7. Federacion Regional de Sociedades Cooperativas de la Indxistria Pesquera Taaaulipas 

 y Norte de Veracruz , with headquarters in I^mpico, Tamps. — All of Tamaulipas and northern 

 Veracruz to Tuxpan. 



8. Federacion Regional de Sociedades Cooperativas de la Industria Pesquera Sur de 

 Veracruz, with headquarters in Veracruz, Ver. — Ihe state of Veracruz from Tuxpan to the 

 southern border. 



There are no federations for the coastal states of Colima, Michoacan, Jalisco, Guerrero 

 and Oaxaca on the Pacific and neither are there for Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan and Qiiintana 

 Roo on the Atlantic. 



For a cooperative to be legally recognized it must first be approved by the Fishery 

 Department and later by the Ministry of Economy. All sales contracts which the cooperatives 

 enter into, if a fair percentage of their catch is involved, must be approved by the Ministry 

 of Econcffliy. 



Of the many privileges granted fishing cooperatives it may be that contained in Article 

 H of the 1932 Law (Appendix I) is most important. This article states: 



"Rights acquired by fishermen's organizations shall be respected in every case " 



Depending upon the interpi-etation, this can be extremely brosui in its application. 



Cooperatives are granted priority with respect to the obtaining of contract-concessions 

 (Appendix II, Art. 18). 



In accordance with a 1938 decree (Appendix UII) cooperatives are exempt f^m various 

 taxes for a period of five years. This has been interpi^ted by the Ministry of Treasury to 

 mean taxes only and not fees. Therefore, of the various fees and tcixes given in Appendix IV, 

 only the exploitation tax is considered as one from which the cooperatives are exempt. 

 According to information received from an official of the Mexican Fishery Department 

 cooperatives are also exempt from the exportation tax, the 2% municipal tax and the 10^ 

 additional tax, Ihe exportation taxes are as given in Appendix XXXVI, The 2% municipal tax 

 is a charge amounting to 2% of the exportation tax, which is granted to the municipalities 

 in which the fishery products originate. The 10% additional tax is applied to the exportation 

 tax in a manner similar to that of the 2% municipal tax but the Federal Government is the 

 recipient of the 10^. According to information, cooperatives are not exempt from the aforo 

 tax. (Appendix XXXVIII) 



Bie 1938 decree permanently exempted the cooperatives from income taxes (Appendix XIII, 

 Art. 1). 



It is a general practice amongst the cooperatives to disband and reorganize at the end 

 of the five-year tax exempt period in order that they may continue enjoying this privilege. 

 A few of the more stable cooperatives have not followed this custom and they now are subject 

 to taxation. 



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