17 Dec A new wave of foreign trade audits to increase tax collection
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has restated that there will be no tax reform in 2025, as her government will focus on tax collection with the digitalization of the Administration Tax Service (hereinafter “SAT”) and the optimization of customs procedures.
In this sense, the draft budget for 2025 points out to tax collection, derived from foreign trade operations, as one of the main sources of financing for next year's income plan.
The president noted that, before thinking about a tax reform, her government plans to focus on an important area of taxation, such as the modernization of customhouses in order to intensify surveillance of foreign trade operations to avoid tax evasion.
In addition to the above, the 2024 Master Taxation Plan presented by the SAT emphasized the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve inspection processes, as well as, to intensify inspection efforts on specific sectors, such as: automotive industry, alcoholic beverages and cigarettes, wholesale and retail, construction, electronics, entertainment, pharmaceutical, hydrocarbons, hotel and lodging, logistics and transportation, metallurgical, parcel and courier, technological platforms, among others industries or activities.
In this 2024 that ends, we have seen that the main audit or inspection traits of the authority have been: non-compliance with IMMEX Programs, temporary imports and import permits; misuse of treaty benefits and verification of origin; underpayment of duties based on incorrect customs valuation, tariff classification and inconsistent information in pedimentos.
Based on the above, we foresee that for this 2025 that will begin in the next weeks, the SAT will intensify the scrutiny of foreign trade operations, to increase the collection of duties and taxes, which is confirmed by the recent interest in illegal imports of Asian origin, as well as, in the current amendment to the Annex 24 of the Foreign Trade General Rules for 2024 (“FTGR”), which grants the SAT direct and real-time access to the Inventory Control System (“ICS”) of companies in the maquiladora industry (IMMEX).
Based on the above, we urge our clients to prepare for an imminent wave of audits and reviews in foreign trade matters, as well as to carry out an internal review of their operations, in order to be prepared in terms of tax collection in 2025.
In case of questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Contact
Alejandro Martínez
amartinez@cuestacampos.com
Ana Victoria Parra Aceves
vparra@cuestacampos.com
THE ABOVE IS PROVIDED AS GENERAL INFORMATION PREPARED BY PROFESSIONALS WITH REGARD TO THE SUBJECT MATTER. THIS DOCUMENT ONLY REFERS TO THE APPLICABLE LAW IN MEXICO. WHILE EVERY EFFORT HAS BEEN MADE TO ENSURE ACCURACY, NO RESPONSIBILITY CAN BE ACCEPTED FOR ERRORS OR OMISSIONS. THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN SHOULD NOT BE RELIED ON AS LEGAL, ACCOUNTING OR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE BEING RENDERED.