Mexico Plans to Strengthen Customs Controls to Address Undervaluation of Imported Goods

Mexico's Federal Executive on September 8, 2026, presented a proposed reform to the Customs Law aimed at strengthening the customs authority's powers to verify the valuation of imported goods and combat undervaluation practices as part of a package of initiatives complementary to the 2026 Economic Package.

Among its principal changes, the initiative would eliminate the 50 percent threshold currently required for precautionary seizure to proceed, as well as reduce from 50 percent to 20 percent the threshold applicable to certain infringement scenarios.

If approved, the reform would expand the circumstances in which the customs authority may review and act in response to differences in the value declared in the customs entry declaration (pedimento), making documentation and support for importers' valuation methods more important. The initiative remains subject to the applicable legislative process.

Scope and Content

The initiative principally proposes the following changes:

• Elimination of the 50 Percent Threshold for Precautionary Seizure. Currently, Article 151 of the Customs Law provides for this scenario where the value declared in the customs entry declaration is 50 percent or more below the transaction value of identical or similar goods. The initiative eliminates that percentage, so precautionary seizure could proceed when the value declared in the customs entry declaration is lower than the value determined under the statutory valuation methods without establishing a minimum difference threshold.
• Commencement of Audit Powers Ex Officio. A paragraph is added to subsection XII of Article 144 of the Customs Law to provide that, when the value declared in the customs entry declaration is lower than the transaction value of identical or similar goods determined under Articles 72 and 73 of the Customs Law, the customs authorities will exercise their audit powers ex officio.
• New Rules for Replacing Precautionary Seizure. The amendment to Article 154 distinguishes between two scenarios. When the difference in the declared value is less than 20 percent, relative to the transaction value of identical or similar goods, the interested party may request, within 10 business days following notification of the commencement of the administrative proceeding, that the precautionary seizure be replaced by 1) a cash deposit or 2) a deposit into a customs guarantee account in an amount equal to the taxes and countervailing duties that would be payable on the difference in value. When the difference is 20 percent or more, replacement may be requested only by means of a cash deposit for those amounts.
• Release of Goods, Guarantees or Deposits. It is clarified that when the interested party establishes the lawful presence or possession of the goods, rebuts the grounds that gave rise to the precautionary seizure or demonstrates that the declared value was correctly determined, the authority must issue the corresponding resolution and, as applicable, return the goods and release the guarantee or return the cash deposit.
• Reduction of the Threshold for Presuming an Infringement. The initiative amends subsection XII of Article 177 to reduce from 50 percent to 20 percent, measured as the difference between the value declared in the customs entry declaration and the value of identical or similar goods at which the presumption of an infringement may arise when this would have resulted in the total or partial omission of foreign trade taxes and, as applicable, countervailing duties.

Considerations for the Private Sector

The proposal does not modify foreign trade tax rates or create new taxes – its scope is focused on customs valuation, audit powers, precautionary seizure, guarantees and infringements associated with potential differences in the declared value.

For companies engaged in import operations, the central change is that a difference below the current 50 percent threshold could result in action by the authority, including the initiation of audit powers and, when the statutory conditions are met, the imposition of precautionary measures. This increases the importance of maintaining documentation supporting the lawful and proper determination of the declared value, as well as the valuation methodology used in each transaction.

The explanatory statement itself indicates that eliminating the threshold is intended to replace a fixed percentage parameter with an analysis grounded in the particular circumstances of each transaction and valuation methods provided in the Customs Law. The initiative also incorporates differentiated guarantee mechanisms based on the magnitude of the difference detected.

Current Status

The initiative was presented to the Chamber of Deputies and has been referred to committees; however, its provisions are not yet in effect and remain subject to the corresponding legislative process.

For more information or questions, please contact the authors.

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