Legal News: National Customs Agency of Mexico

printable version | July 2021 |

On July 14, 2022, the creation of the National Customs Agency of Mexico was published in the evening version of the Official Gazette of the Federation, a decentralized administrative body of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit endowed with technical, operational, administrative and management autonomy, which will have the following powers:

1. Collect the contributions and fees applicable to foreign trade operations and their accessories, in accordance with the applicable legislation and in accordance with the international treaties to which Mexico is a party, when these powers must be exercised by the customs authorities;
2. To direct customs and inspection services, in accordance with the terms provided for in the applicable provisions; as well as to carry out corresponding operations in accordance with the legal provisions applicable to the verification of the legal presence of goods in the national territory and of goods in transport, including their verification of origin; to seize or insure goods whose legal presence in the country is not proven and to safeguard them as a depositary;
3. Manage the registers of importers, importers of specific sectors and sectoral exporters;
4. Represent the interests of the Federation in tax and customs disputes related to the entry, transit or exit of goods from or within the national territory;
5. Determine and settle the contributions and benefits applicable to foreign trade operations and their accessories;
6. Coordinate with the armed forces and national security and public security institutions to maintain security at access points to the country;
7. Request and provide other public bodies and institutions, national or foreign, access to the information necessary to prevent tax evasion or avoidance in customs matters and other illegal acts or infractions, in accordance with international laws and treaties on customs matters;
8. Monitor and ensure due compliance with tax and customs provisions related to the entry, transit or exit of goods from or within the national territory and, where appropriate, exercise the verification powers provided for in said provisions;
9. Participate in the negotiation of international treaties carried out by the Federal Executive in customs matters, as well as enter into inter-institutional agreements within the scope of its competence;
10. Provide, under the principle of reciprocity, the assistance requested by supervisory and regulatory bodies of other countries with which agreements have been signed or which are part of international conventions on customs matters to which Mexico is a party, for which, in the exercise of its inspection powers, it may collect from taxpayers and third parties related to them, the information and documentation that is the subject of the request;
11. Act as a consultative body to the Federal Government on customs matters;
12. Propose customs administration policy for higher approval and implement actions for its application;
13. Design, manage and operate sufficient statistical data to fully prepare reports on federal revenue collection and inspection that the Federal Executive must submit to the Congress of the Union, in the areas of its competence;
14. Issue general provisions and administrative agreements necessary for the effective exercise of its powers, as well as for the application of laws, treaties and provisions issued based on them, related to the entry and exit of merchandise from the national territory;
15. Maintain coordination with the Tax Administration Service on the information necessary for the correct administration, collection and accounting of federal contributions and benefits and their accessories;
16. Contribute with timely, accurate and verifiable data to the design of customs administration policy;
17. Represent the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit before administrative and jurisdictional authorities, within the criminal proceedings related to crimes under the jurisdiction of the National Customs Agency of Mexico, in its capacity as victim or offended party, as co-plaintiff or legal advisor of the same, by itself or through the lawyers assigned to it, and
18. Any others that may be necessary to carry out those provided for in this Decree, its internal regulations and other applicable legal provisions.

The Decree, in its First Transitory Article, establishes that it will come into force on the date on which the legal reforms that grant the jurisdiction that the Tax Administration Service currently has in fiscal and customs matters to the National Customs Agency of Mexico come into effect.

It is worth mentioning that this decree can be found here.

If you require additional information, please contact the partner responsible for your matters or one of the lawyers mentioned below:

Mexico Office