Lawmakers Approve Changes to the Customs Law

The Chamber of Deputies has reviewed and approved the amendment to the Customs Law, introduced by President Claudia Sheinbaum, which aims to step up the fight against the undervaluation of goods to protect domestic industry and increase customs tax revenue.

The plenary session of San Lázaro generally approved amendments to Articles 144, 151, 153, and 177 of the Customs Law.
One of the most important aspects of the reform is that it allows customs authorities to seize goods even when the undervaluation is less than 50%.

Under this reform, the customs authority will be able to determine, based on administrative provisions, the percentage of undervaluation that would trigger the seizure of goods.

It also proposes that, once the undervaluation exceeds 20%, the importer will be authorized to replace the precautionary seizure only with a cash deposit equal to the amount of taxes due on the difference between the declared value and the value determined by the authority for the goods.

Currently, an importer must make a cash deposit to release their seized merchandise from customs only when the undervaluation exceeds 50%.
The reform applies only to cases where the undervaluation is less than 20%, meaning that the importer could replace the precautionary seizure with a deposit into a customs guarantee account.

Congresswoman Claudia Rivera Vivanco reported that this reform is expected to put an end to tax evasion at customs by curbing the undervaluation of goods, unfair competition, and tax evasion.

For his part, Congressman Christian Mishel Castro stated that the precautionary seizures, which will be expanded under the changes to the Customs Law, could end up paralyzing a company’s entire operations.