Valero Mexico suspended from the country's import registry for motor fuels

By Stefanie Eschenbacher

MEXICO CITY, April 11 (Reuters) - Valero Mexico said on Friday that it was notified by the country's tax authority that it had been "momentarily" suspended from the registry of importers for motor fuels but that it was cooperating with an investigation.

One of the country's largest private importers of gasoline and diesel, Valero Mexico said in the statement that its permit was valid until 2038.

While Mexico is a large producer of crude oil, it imports both gasoline and diesel to meet the national demand for motor fuels because state company Pemex struggles to efficiently refine the heavy sour crude it pumps.

Mexico's tax authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"The company is attending promptly to the observations made by authorities, as pointed out in the suspension notification, with the intention to clear these up," it said. "(It) is currently the main private importer of motor fuels in the country and has a strategic role in meeting energy demands."

Since 2017, Valero Mexico has invested more than a billion dollars in infrastructure together with its partners.