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vehicle business. Thus, if one of such entities makes the importation, it will not be taxed,while the sale in the country of the imported vehicles will be taxed.To calculate the ISAN to be paid for the importation, the value of the sale (invoice value)is taken into account, which amount will be added to the amount of the general importtax actually paid upon the permanent importation into the country.6. Automotive Industry168C H A P T E R V I I IUnder NAFTA, Mexico agreed to eliminate the Decree for the Promotion and Modernizationof the Automotive Industry (Decreto para el Fomento y Modernización de la IndustriaAutomotriz), no later than January 1, 2004, since this decree was in conflict with the provisionsand principles of NAFTA. It should be mentioned that the decree established,among other things, that only companies of the terminal automotive industry couldimport vehicles into Mexico, provided they had a favorable trade balance and the permitsfor the corresponding importation were obtained from the SE.Therefore, under NAFTA, Mexico cannot apply quantitative regulations, taxes, or restrictionsto protect the domestic automotive industry, and it must grant a no less favorable treatmentto imported vehicles as it does to products of national origin in relation to the sale,offer, purchase, transport, distribution, and use of these products in the internal market.As a consequence of the above, on December 31, 2003 the Decree to Support theCompetitiveness of the Terminal Automotive Industry (Decreto para el Apoyo a la Competitividadde la Industria Automotriz Terminal) was published in the Official FederalGazette, whose purpose was not only to comply with the obligations Mexico assumedunder NAFTA, but also to grant certain additional benefits to the automotive sector, withoutseeming to violate the international agreements executed by the country.Thus, this decree grants advantages to companies as a company that produces lightnew automotive vehicles (a producer company) (empresa productora de vehículos automotoresligeros nuevos: empresa productora) that comply with the requirements establishedin this decree. A producer company would be, for example, a company that hasmanufactured at least 50,000 new automobiles in Mexico and invested at least 100 milliondollars in fixed assets. Another type of producer company would be one thatarmor-plates automobiles in Mexico, thereby increasing the final value of the automobilesmore than 50 percent.Among the benefits granted are that the producer company will be considered a manufacturingcompany (empresa fabricante) for purposes of the automotive custom-housedeposit, the sectorial program of automotive promotion, and other provisions of theCustoms Law. Furthermore, they can import new automobiles in an amount that representsat least 20 percent of the units manufactured in the country the prior year, applyinga zero percent tariff regardless of the origin of the automobile.