SCJN invalidates charges from revenue laws of Oaxacan municipalities

The Plenary of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation declared the invalidity of various articles of the Revenue Laws of Municipalities of the State of Oaxaca for the 2025 fiscal year, upon resolving unconstitutionality action 39/2025 promoted by the National Human Rights Commission. The ruling, for which the rapporteur was Minister Sara Irene Herrerías Guerra, was issued in the session of December 8, 2025, and published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on August 25, 2026.

The ruling, approved by a unanimous vote of nine, annuls provisions of the revenue laws of nine Oaxacan municipalities published in the Official Gazette of the State of Oaxaca on February 22, 2025. The declaration of invalidity shall take effect upon notification of the operative points to the Congress of the State of Oaxaca.

The five themes declared unconstitutional

The CNDH challenged the precepts for violating the principles of legality, legal certainty, proportionality, and tax equity provided for in articles 14, 16, and 31, fraction IV, of the Constitution. The Plenary grouped the concepts of invalidity into five thematic blocks:

• Public lighting charges: articles 36 of the Revenue Law of San Juan Teitipac, 34 of Santa María Temaxcalapa, and 56 of San Lucas Ojitlán, for imposing rates and fees unrelated to the actual cost of the service.
• Charges for document reproduction: article 28, fraction I, of San Miguel Amatlán, which set 100 pesos per copy, an amount disproportionate to the cost of the service.
• Medical certificate charges: article 94, fraction I, subsection f), of Santa María Jalapa del Marqués, which distinguished 250 pesos for detainees and 150 for the general public.
• Infractions for the sale of alcoholic beverages to persons with disabilities: article 121, fraction I, subsection u), in its portion “or to persons with mental deficiencies.”
• Infractions causing legal uncertainty: articles from San Pedro Ocopetatillo, San Juan Guichicovi, San Miguel Amatlán, Santa Catarina Mechoacán, San Juan Teitipac, Santa María Jalapa del Marqués, San Lucas Ojitlán, and Concepción Buenavista.

Criteria of the Plenary

The Plenary Court considered that the charge for the public lighting right cannot be individualized according to the electricity tariff or the destination of the property, as this violates proportionality and tax equity. In the case of the medical certificate, the Court emphasized that gratuity for persons deprived of their liberty is a human rights requirement, not a concession.

Regarding sanctions for lack of respect toward authority and offensive expressions, the Plenary considered that their wording grants a wide margin of appreciation to the authority, generating legal uncertainty. It also declared the prohibition of selling alcoholic beverages to persons with disabilities unconstitutional, as it adopts a paternalistic approach superseded by the social model of disability.

Effects and exhortation to the legislator

The declaration of invalidity will take effect upon notification of the resolutive points to the Congress of the State of Oaxaca, and must be notified to the involved municipalities as the authorities responsible for applying the regulations. The Plenary exhorted the Oaxacan Legislative Power to, in future similar measures, determine quotas and tariffs through an objective and reasonable method.

The resolution will be published in the Official Gazette of the Federation, the Official Gazette of the State of Oaxaca, and the Judicial Weekly of the Federation and its Gazette. The ruling reinforces the Court’s jurisprudence on the correlation between the cost of public services and the amount of fees, and obliges Oaxacan city councils to adjust their collection to the principles of tax justice.

Source: Official Gazette of the Federation, August 25, 2026, First Section (Judicial Power), p. 135 (reference: Unconstitutionality Action 39/2025).