Recent Changes to Mexican Regulations Affect Documentation Requirements, Temporary Imports

The Confederation of Mexican Customs Broker Associations (CAAAREM) recently issued a circular detailing recent changes to the Mexican customs regulations. The Mexican Tax Administration Service published the notice, the fifth such set of changes to the Mexican Foreign Trade Regulations, on March 30. The CAAAREM circular was posted by Mexican law firm Consorcio Juridico Aduanero.

Among other amendments, the deadline for compliance with new valuation documentation requirements under Article 81 of the Mexican Customs Law is extended until July 1, 2019. Previously the deadline had been April 4, 2019. This upcoming requirement has been on the horizon since 2015, and was set to take effect in 2018 before it was delayed. Some of these documents are already usually provided to customs brokers by importers, but there are some new documents that will be required, according to a recent blog post from Mexican compliance software company OneCore.

The notice also amends the Mexican customs regulations to allow maquiladoras to use consolidated import/export declarations for temporary imports of certain footwear, textiles and apparel, iron and steel, gold silver and copper and aluminum goods if they meet certification requirements and have a history with the Mexican maquiladora program. The regulations also now require guarantee on duties for such temporary imports.

Other changes include modifications to Mexican customs’ hours of operation at the ports of Mazatlan, Colombia and Tuxpan. Several changes are also made to requirements for Mexican customs brokers, as well as to the instructions for filling out import/export declarations. Mexican subheading 3004.90.99 is also added to the list of goods exempt from value-added tax (IVA), but only when medicines imported under that subheading are patented.