Import: Basic Process

Customs Entry

Created in July of 2021, the customs authority in Mexico is known as the National Customs Agency of Mexico (Agencia Nacional de Aduanas de México or ANAM), a decentralized administrative agency of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público). 

All commercial imports into Mexico, whether they are temporary or permanent, can be executed by a qualified and authorized Mexican customs broker.

Documentation Package

The basic Mexican import document is the import request (pedimento de importación) for customs clearance. Mexico requires import and export documentation including a completed import request for all commercial crossings. This document must be accompanied by a commercial invoice (in Spanish), a bill of lading, documents demonstrating guarantee of payment of additional duties for undervalued goods, if applicable, and, if applicable, documents demonstrating compliance with Mexican product safety and performance regulations.

Products qualifying as North American under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) require a minimum set of nine data elements be submitted to prove origin and receive USMCA preferential tariff treatment. This certification may be issued by the importer, exporter, or producer, and it does not have to be validated or formalized. Mexican tax authorities conduct fiscal audits on certain exporters in sensitive industries.

Documentation Review

Customs reviews the documentation to check for:

• Authority of the entity to import
• Consistency of information across documents
• Legality of the proposed import
• Proper product classification and valuation

Customs also:

• Establishes whether to order an inspection of the shipment
• Computes duties, taxes, and other fees
• Refers documentation to other governmental agencies for imports of controlled products
• Establishes any special requirements for final clearance of the shipment

Customs Entries

The following are the customs entries authorized by Mexican law:
Consumption Entry
Articles are released from customs custody for immediate sale or use within the country.
Transit Entry
The consignee is granted permission to transport a shipment through the country solely for the purpose of export to another country.
Temporary Entry
The consignee is granted permission to import articles on a temporary basis without the payment of duties and taxes. Examples include sales samples, race cars for temporary use in a specific event, motion picture cameras for temporary use in the making of a specific film, etc. A bond is usually required to ensure that articles are either exported or that duties and taxes are paid.
Warehouse Entry
The consignee is granted permission to transfer a shipment to a customs bonded warehouse where it is stored without payment of import duties and taxes until it is formally imported for consumption or re-exported.
Free Trade Zone Entry
The consignee is granted permission to transfer a shipment into a special area within Mexican customs territory, called a free trade zone, without payment of duties or taxes until the shipment is either released for free circulation (consumption) or re-exported.

Time to File

Customs may impose a filing deadline for the import request and accompanying documents, which may be within a certain number of days after the date of discharge of the last article from the vessel. Failure to file the import request before the deadline may constitute implied abandonment and may result in the ipso facto forfeiture of the shipment.

Import License, Clearance, Permit

In addition to registering with the official list of importers (padrón de importadores), maintained by the Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit, or SHCP, certain restricted and prohibited articles may require the importer to obtain an import license, clearance, or permit. See the Restricted and Prohibited page.

Tariff Regimes

Mexico is one of over 200 countries that uses the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (Harmonized System or HS). The HS is an internationally-standardized system of names and numbers for classifying traded products and is maintained by the World Customs Organization (WCO).  

Additionally, Mexico is a signatory to a number of trade agreements that provide for reduced-duty or duty-free import of certain articles from certain countries. Some of the major trade agreements include:

• Japan-Mexico Economic Partnership Agreement
• EU-Mexico Free Trade Agreement (FTA EU-MX)
• United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)

For a list of trade agreements to which Mexico is a party, see the Trade Agreements page under Trade.

Import Documentation 

All imports of physical articles require the following basic documentation:

• Import Request (Pedimento de Importación)
• Entry Summary
• Certificate of Origin (CoO)
• Commercial Invoice (CI), in Spanish
• Freight Document: Bill of Lading (B/L), Airway Bill (AWB), Rail Waybill, or Road Waybill

Some imports may require specialized documentation:

• Insurance Document
• Health Certificate
• Phytosanitary Certificate
• Import Licenses, Permits, Certifications
• Documents as may be required by the terms of a bank letter of credit (L/C) or documents against payment (D/P) provision

Restricted and Prohibited Articles

For restricted and prohibited articles an import license, clearance, or permit must be obtained from the governmental agency that regulates that article. This document must be submitted to Mexican customs upon filing of the import request or prior to release of the regulated article from the customs custody. See the Restricted and Prohibited page.

Inspection

After the payment of duty, the shipment is presented to customs with an entry summary. The entry summary is scanned into the automated manifest system, which determines whether to issue a green light or red light signal. A green light means the articles have cleared without a physical inspection. A red light means that articles require physical inspection. All articles that are imported inside a wooden crate or container having wooden packaging are liable to be inspected at the entry points.

Customs may also perform random spot inspections. Agricultural exporters note that Mexican inspection and clearance procedures for some agricultural goods can be long, burdensome, non-transparent, and unreliable.

Payment of Duties and Taxes

Once the import request is validated, the customs broker pays all applicable duties and taxes on behalf of the importer. In general, unless exempted by law, all articles imported into Mexico are subject to duties and taxes, which accrue upon the arrival of a shipment into the customs territory. Release of the shipment does not happen until all taxes and duties are paid or secured to be paid. 

Clearance and Release of Shipment

Once any necessary inspection is completed, all duties, taxes, and other fees are paid or secured to be paid, and no discrepancies or problems arise with the import documentation or the shipment, customs places its customs stamp on the import request, indicating clearance of the shipment. Both the stamped import request and the payment receipt must be presented for release.

Import Support

For help or further information, visit the website of the Customs Services Portal (Portal de Servicios de Aduanas) or contact the Mexican Tax Administration Service by calling [1] (800) 286 3133 (within Mexico) or [1] (844) 549 7885 (from United States and Canada). 

Source: National Customs Agency of Mexico (Agencia Nacional de Aduanas de México or ANAM), International Trade Administration, US Department of Commerce

Note: This information is subject to change. Importers and exporters are advised to obtain the most current information from a customs broker, freight forwarder, logistics professional, or the local customs authorities.

Article written for World Trade Press by Felicia Topp and Brittony Hubbard.
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