Market Intelligence
Mexico Customs and Boarder Measures

Mexico New Invoicing Requirements and obligations (CARTA PORTE)

The Tax Administration Service (SAT by its Spanish acronym), published on its website an update related to the electronic document called” Bill of Lading Complement” (Complemento carta porte) plus the invoicing process. 
 
This is an important change for U.S. companies exporting via door-to-door services because, Mexican owners of goods, transportation companies & freight forwarders are subject to comply with this requirement. 

This requirement will be applied to all importation and exportation of goods in transit within Mexican territory. The parties involved must comply in advance with this updated requirement. 

The Mexican government will require information in advance of all goods in transit by any means of transport (air, sea, train road, and others) throughout Mexican territory. The main purpose is to combat transport of contraband and impose taxes on the informal economy through transportation services. 

In this new requirement (Complemento Carta Porte) the Mexican government will request information including, but not limited to: 

  • Description of goods that will be moved through Mexican territory; 
  • Shipper/receiver information; 
  • Specific information about the shipper and receiver locations;
  • Description of means of transportation;
  • Driver identification information if transportation by land. 

More technical details are available on the official Mexican Government website (Spanish):
http://omawww.sat.gob.mx/cartaporte/Paginas/documentos/PreguntasFrecuentes_Autotransporte.pdf 

We strongly recommend U.S. exporters be in contact with their Mexican clients and prepare for the legal, tax, and customs implications of this update. There is still little information about this requirement. However, failure to comply with issuing the new CFDI/Complemento Carta Porte with the bill of lading information will trigger fines and may result in impound of the shipments, and /or shutdown of the Mexican companies involved for three to fifteen business days. 

UPDATE: The initial effective date of this new requirement was planned for JANUARY 1, 2022, but after several consultation sessions with the business community and transportation chambers, the Mexican government on December 24, 2021 published in the Mexican Gazette a new entry in force, effective MARCH 31, 2022. Starting April 1st, any situations of lack of compliance or paperwork could result in fines, seizures of the merchandise and transportation units.  Another important aspect of this requirement is that only federal government agents from SAT, National Guard, and Communication authorities are authorized to request the Carta Porte supplement; neither the municipal nor state police officers are in a position to request it.

This information is based on public information issued by the Mexican Tax Authority and may be subject to change. The U.S. Commercial Service in Mexico can assist U.S. exporters in resolving customs-related issues.

For further questions on this issue or if you encounter any issue related to Mexican Customs procedures, please Ask Manny! at Manuel.Velazquez@trade.gov