How to read a Mexican pedimento: what each block means and what to verify

Every import ends with a multi-page PDF full of codes, keys and columns of figures. Most importers receive it, confirm the goods arrived and file it away without reading it. That document is the pedimento, and it is the tax declaration under which your operation was recorded with the authority.

If there is ever an audit, nobody will ask for the forwarder’s quote or the supplier’s email. They will ask for the pedimento and the file that supports it. It is worth knowing how to read it.

What it is and what it is not

The pedimento is not a receipt for clearance services. It is a declaration: it states what goods entered the country, under what regime, at what value, from what origin, with what tariff classification and how much was paid in duties and taxes.

It is transmitted by the customs agency you granted authorization to, but it declares your information. That distinction is why it deserves a review: the data it contains is what you will answer for if it is questioned.

The header: identifying the operation

The first section frames the operation:

• Pedimento number. Built from the year, the customs office and section, the agency’s license number and a sequential number. It is the unique identifier you will use to locate the operation later.
• Pedimento key. Two characters defining the operation type and customs regime. A1 is definitive importation, the most common one. Different keys exist for temporary imports, transits, returns and amendments; the current list lives in the appendix to the foreign trade rules.
• Customs office and section. Where the goods were physically cleared.
• Importer and customs broker tax IDs. Verify yours is correct: a mistyped RFC disconnects the operation from your accounting.
• Exchange rate and entry date. They determine value conversion and the moment duties accrue.
• Mode of transport and shipment details.

The value block

This is the fiscal core of the document and the most common source of trouble:

• Commercial value — from the invoice.
• Customs value — the base on which duties and taxes are calculated.
• Value in US dollars.
• Additions — freight, insurance, packing and other items that, depending on the agreed Incoterm, must be added to the value of the goods.
• Deductions — items subtracted where applicable.

If you bought under an Incoterm where freight is on your account, that freight normally forms part of the customs value. A pedimento declaring only the invoice value when additions existed is precisely the scenario the authority reviews in matters of value and undervaluation. The documentary backing for that value is the customs value declaration.

Duties and taxes

The pedimento breaks down what was paid. The usual line items are IGI (import duty), DTA (customs processing fee), VAT, prevalidation and, where applicable, IEPS or countervailing duties. Each has its own base and calculation logic; they are explained in detail in import taxes in Mexico.

Compare this block against the payment receipt. They must match to the peso, and that VAT is what you will credit on your tax return.

The line items

After the header comes the detail, one line per type of goods. Each declares:

• Tariff classification and NICO. They determine the duty rate and the applicable regulations. This is the single highest-consequence field in the entire document, which is why tariff classification should be settled before loading rather than in the yard.
• Description of the goods. It must match what actually arrived.
• Quantity in commercial and tariff units of measure. These are two different units and they are frequently confused.
• Unit value and line total.
• Country of origin, of the seller and of destination.

Identifiers, permits and remarks

At the end come the identifiers: codes evidencing preferential treatment, promotion programs such as IMMEX or PROSEC, certificates of origin under the USMCA, prior permits and NOM labeling compliance.

If you claimed a preferential duty rate, the identifier supporting it must appear here. Without it the benefit is not declared, even if the certificate sits in your folder.

What to verify before filing it away

1. Your tax ID and legal name, exactly.
2. The pedimento key matches the regime you asked for.
3. Line descriptions match what you physically received.
4. Quantities reconcile against the packing list.
5. The declared value matches your commercial invoice and what you actually paid.
6. Additions are declared if the Incoterm made them yours.
7. Duties and taxes match the payment receipt.
8. Preferential-treatment or program identifiers are present if you used them.
9. The tariff classification is the one you validated, not a different one.

Half an hour of review per shipment beats rebuilding a file under pressure months later.

If something is wrong

A pedimento with an incorrect field is corrected through an amendment — a new pedimento replacing the erroneous data. Not every field is amendable, not at any time, and some corrections mean paying differences plus adjustments.

The practical rule: finding the error yourself and correcting it voluntarily is always a better position than having it found from the outside. If the error is detected during clearance or inspection, the path can be a very different one: a PAMA and precautionary seizure.

How long to keep it

The pedimento and its annexes are part of your accounting records, and the general obligation to retain accounting records runs five years. Keep the pedimento together with the invoice, packing list, transport document, proof of payment of duties and to the supplier, certificates and permits. That set — not the pedimento alone — is what holds the operation together.

At TradeWay

We clear your goods and hand you the pedimento with a complete file organized per operation, not loose in an email. If you want us to review the pedimentos from your recent imports before somebody else does, contact us.