Voluntary Insolvency Petition Mexico (Solicitud de Concurso Mercantil)

A Voluntary Insolvency Petition Mexico (Solicitud de Concurso Mercantil Voluntario) is a formal judicial application filed by a Mexican comerciante — whether a legal entity (persona moral) such as a Sociedad Anónima de Capital Variable (SA de CV) or a natural person engaged in commerce (persona física con actividad empresarial) — to initiate the concurso mercantil proceeding governed by the Ley de Concursos Mercantiles (LCM), published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 12 May 2000 and last substantially reformed on 10 January 2014. The concurso mercantil is Mexico's primary insolvency framework, designed to achieve either the reorganization (etapa de conciliación) or, failing that, the liquidation (etapa de quiebra) of a commercially insolvent enterprise.

Article 9 of the LCM establishes that a comerciante who has incurred generalized default (incumplimiento generalizado) on payment obligations may voluntarily petition for concurso mercantil before the competent Juzgado de Distrito en Materia Civil o Mercantil. The general default threshold under Article 9 requires that the comerciante has failed to comply with payment obligations to two or more distinct creditors for a period of 30 or more days, and that the overdue obligations represent at least 35% of all obligations as of the date of the petition. The voluntary petition under Article 20 LCM triggers an automatic suspension (suspensión) of individual enforcement actions against the debtor's assets once the court issues the declaración de concurso mercantil.

The Instituto Federal de Especialistas de Concursos Mercantiles (IFECOM), a specialized body within the Consejo de la Judicatura Federal, plays a central supervisory role in every concurso proceeding. IFECOM maintains the register of certified specialists — visitadores (forensic auditors who verify the insolvency threshold), conciliadores (mediators who negotiate a reorganization agreement during the conciliación stage), and síndicos (liquidators who administer the estate during quiebra). Under Articles 43 through 57 LCM, the court appoints an IFECOM-certified visitador upon receiving the petition to verify within a specified period whether the debtor meets the insolvency threshold and whether the filed information is accurate.

The concurso mercantil proceeding operates in two sequential stages once the court issues the declaration. The etapa de conciliación (reorganization stage), governed by Articles 145 through 212 LCM, grants an initial period of 185 days (extendable by up to two further periods of 90 days each) during which the conciliador negotiates a convenio concursal (reorganization agreement) between the debtor and a qualified majority of its recognized creditors. If no agreement is reached within the conciliación period, the court declares quiebra (liquidation) under Article 167 LCM, appointing a síndico to realize the debtor's assets for distribution among creditors in the statutory priority order established by Articles 217 through 224 LCM.

The voluntary petition has significant advantages over an involuntary petition filed by creditors under Articles 21 through 40 LCM. The debtor filing voluntarily retains control of the business as a debtor-in-possession under the oversight of the conciliador, may propose the reorganization terms, and avoids the reputational damage of a creditor-initiated proceeding. Articles 65 through 75 LCM govern the retroactive effects of the concurso declaration on pre-petition transactions, establishing a período de retroacción (look-back period) during which suspicious transactions may be challenged by the conciliador or síndico. Understanding these provisions is critical for directors and officers who authorized transactions in the period preceding the petition.

The Ley de Concursos Mercantiles interacts with several other statutes that affect the rights of specific creditors. Secured creditors holding garantías reales (mortgages, pledges, trusts in guarantee) retain preferential rights under the Código de Comercio and the Ley General de Títulos y Operaciones de Crédito (LGTOC). Tax claims of the Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT) rank ahead of unsecured creditors under the Código Fiscal de la Federación (CFF) Article 149. Labor claims of workers rank as primera clase (first class) creditors under Article 224 LCM in accordance with Article 123 of the Constitución Política and Article 113 of the Ley Federal del Trabajo (LFT).

A Voluntary Insolvency Petition Mexico under the Ley de Concursos Mercantiles is required when a Mexican comerciante has reached the state of generalized payment default described in Article 9 LCM and wishes to access the formal legal framework for either reorganizing its debts or conducting an orderly liquidation under judicial supervision.

The petition is needed when a company has defaulted on obligations owed to two or more creditors for 30 or more days and those overdue obligations represent at least 35% of total liabilities. Directors and officers of a Sociedad Anónima under the Ley General de Sociedades Mercantiles (LGSM) Article 172 have a fiduciary duty to act when the company is insolvent; filing a voluntary concurso petition is a recognized mechanism for fulfilling that duty and for obtaining the protection of the automatic stay (suspensión de ejecuciones) against creditor enforcement actions.

The document is needed when the commercial entity requires the protection of the automatic stay to prevent any single creditor from obtaining an advantage through individual enforcement (embargo, ejecución hipotecaria, or remate) that would be unfair to the body of creditors as a whole. Once the court issues the declaración de concurso mercantil under Article 43 LCM, Articles 65 and 66 LCM prohibit new attachment proceedings and stay pending enforcement actions, giving the debtor breathing room to negotiate with creditors through the IFECOM conciliador.

A voluntary petition is also needed when the shareholders or board of directors of an SA de CV have made a business judgment that an orderly reorganization — preserving jobs, supplier relationships, and going-concern value — is preferable to an informal workout or individual creditor negotiations. The LCM provides a binding cram-down mechanism: a convenio concursal approved by creditors representing the qualified majority under Article 157 LCM binds all recognized creditors, including dissenting minorities, within each creditor class.

The petition is required to be filed in the Juzgado de Distrito en Materia Civil o Mercantil with territorial jurisdiction over the debtor's domicilio social (registered office) under Article 17 LCM. Companies with cross-border operations or foreign creditors may also benefit from the LCM provisions on recognition of foreign insolvency proceedings under Articles 278 through 294 LCM, which implement the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency as incorporated into the LCM by the 2007 reform.

A valid Voluntary Insolvency Petition Mexico under the Ley de Concursos Mercantiles Articles 9–20 must contain the following elements for the Juzgado de Distrito to admit and process the application.

Identification of the Petitioner: Full legal name (denominación o razón social), domicilio social, RFC assigned by the Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT), and folio mercantil (Registro Público de Comercio registration number). The legal representative (representante legal) filing on behalf of a legal entity must hold a valid poder notarial para pleitos y cobranzas granted before a Notario Público under the Código de Comercio and the Código Civil Federal, evidencing authority to initiate judicial proceedings.

Declaration of Insolvency Threshold: A sworn statement (declaración bajo protesta de decir verdad) by the legal representative or the comerciante attesting to the existence of generalized default satisfying Article 9 LCM — specifically, that overdue obligations to at least two creditors have exceeded 30 days and represent 35% or more of total liabilities. Detailed financial statements (estados financieros) certified by a Contador Público registered with the Instituto Mexicano de Contadores Públicos (IMCP) must accompany the petition under Article 20 Section II LCM.

List of Creditors and Obligations: A complete schedule (relación de acreedores) under Article 20 Section III LCM listing every creditor's name, domicile, RFC, the nature (mercantil, laboral, fiscal, garantizada) and amount of each claim, any collateral securing the claim, and whether the obligation is current or overdue. Omitting creditors from this schedule may expose the debtor's directors to liability under the CFF and the LCM.

List of Assets: A comprehensive inventory (relación de bienes) under Article 20 Section IV LCM detailing all real property (inmuebles), moveable property (bienes muebles), accounts receivable (cuentas por cobrar), intellectual property rights, financial instruments, and other assets, with estimated current market values and any liens or encumbrances (gravámenes). Real property schedules should include Registro Público de la Propiedad inscription data and any hipotecas or fideicomisos de garantía.

Cash Flow Projections: Financial projections demonstrating the debtor's inability to service its current obligations and, where reorganization is the objective, preliminary projections supporting the viability of a restructuring plan. While not expressly required by Article 20, courts and the IFECOM-appointed visitador rely heavily on cash flow analysis to verify the insolvency threshold and to assess whether reorganization is economically viable.

Proposed Reorganization Terms (Optional): A preliminary outline (propuesta de convenio) of the restructuring terms the debtor proposes to negotiate with creditors during the etapa de conciliación. Presenting a credible preliminary proposal signals good faith and may influence the court's decision on protective interim measures (medidas cautelares) under Article 71 LCM.

Data Privacy Notice: Under Article 15 of the Ley Federal de Protección de Datos Personales en Posesión de los Particulares (LFPDPPP, DOF 5 July 2010), any personal data of natural-person creditors or guarantors included in the petition must be accompanied by an aviso de privacidad informing those individuals of their ARCO rights before the Instituto Nacional de Transparencia, Acceso a la Información y Protección de Datos Personales (INAI).

Signature and Verification: The petition must be signed by the legal representative with exhibited power of attorney, and all accompanying financial statements must be certified by a Contador Público registered with the IMCP. Forms-legal.com provides this Voluntary Insolvency Petition Mexico template as a practical starting point. Every concurso mercantil petition must be prepared and filed by a Licenciado en Derecho with insolvency practice experience (abogado concursalista), as errors in the petition or omissions in the creditor/asset schedules can result in dismissal, criminal liability for the directors, or unfavorable treatment by the IFECOM visitador. The Juzgado de Distrito will issue an auto de radicación within the period specified under Article 23 LCM confirming receipt and appointing the visitador.