A customs regime is the legal status you assign to goods when they enter or leave Mexico: it determines what you pay, how long they can stay, and what you're allowed to do with them. Mexico's Customs Law recognizes six. Most e-commerce brands only ever need one — but it's worth knowing which and why, because the mistake is paid in duties or in goods you can't sell.
The six regimes, in one table
| Regime | What it's for | Duties on entry? | Can it be sold in Mexico? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Definitive import | Bringing product in to sell here | Yes, in full | Yes |
| Temporary import | Goods enter, are used or transformed, and leave | No (they're guaranteed) | No |
| Fiscal deposit | Storing goods in an authorized warehouse and paying later | Not until withdrawn | Yes, on withdrawal with payment |
| Transit | Moving goods between two customs points without clearing them | No | No |
| Processing or repair in a bonded facility | Working on goods inside the customs facility | No | Depends on destination |
| Strategic bonded facility | Operating (storing, transforming, distributing) inside an authorized zone | Not until withdrawn | Yes, on withdrawal with payment |
The one that probably applies: definitive import
If your brand imports finished product to sell in Mexico, your regime is definitive import. You pay the general import duty, VAT and whatever else the tariff classification calls for, and from that point the goods are yours with no customs restrictions: store them anywhere, sell them through any channel, move them without telling anyone.
It's the most expensive on entry and the simplest afterward. For an e-commerce operation, that simplicity usually beats whatever the other regimes save.
To operate it you need to be registered in the importer registry, work with a customs broker, and end up with a pedimento proving everything was paid.
The ones that sound attractive and rarely apply
Temporary import. Goods enter duty-free on the commitment that they'll leave the country. This is the regime behind Mexico's maquiladora industry under the IMMEX program. It sounds ideal — you don't pay — until you remember the condition: you can't sell them in Mexico. If your business is selling here, this isn't your regime.
Fiscal deposit. Lets you place goods in an authorized General Deposit Warehouse and pay duties only as you withdraw them. For someone importing a full container and selling it over a year, the cash flow benefit is real. The downsides are equally real: only authorized warehouses qualify, with their own costs and timelines, and every withdrawal is a filing. We covered it in depth in bonded warehouse vs. 3PL.
Transit. Used to move cargo from one customs point to another — say from Manzanillo to an inland customs office — without clearing it at the port. It's a leg of the journey, not a destination: your broker uses it when it makes sense, but it isn't a decision you make.
Bonded and strategic bonded facilities. These exist for operations that need to work on goods before clearing them, inside an authorized zone. Industrial scale; an e-commerce brand rarely gets there.
How to choose, in three questions
- Will the goods be sold in Mexico? If yes, definitive or fiscal deposit. If no, temporary.
- Will you sell the inventory in under six months? If yes, definitive: fiscal deposit's cash flow benefit doesn't cover its friction. If you'll move it over a year or more and the amount is large, run the numbers.
- Will you transform the product? If you assemble, label or repack it for export, you're in IMMEX territory. If you only label it to sell here — as NOM-050 requires — that happens after clearance, in an ordinary warehouse.
The most common mistake
It isn't picking the wrong regime: it's not knowing which one your goods are in. It happens when a brand delegates everything to the broker and only sees the invoice. The day they want to move product between warehouses, or sell through a new channel, they discover a restriction nobody explained.
The pedimento states the regime. It's the key field near the top, and reading it takes ten seconds. If you don't know which regime your last shipment came in under, that's today's task.
Frequently asked questions
How many customs regimes exist in Mexico? Six, under the Customs Law: definitive, temporary, fiscal deposit, transit, processing or repair in a bonded facility, and strategic bonded facility.
Can I change regimes later? In some cases yes, through a change-of-regime pedimento — for example from temporary to definitive, paying what's owed. It isn't automatic and it has requirements; your customs broker handles it.
Does the regime change how much VAT I pay? It changes when you pay it. Under definitive import you pay on entry; under fiscal deposit, as you withdraw; under temporary import you don't pay if the goods genuinely leave the country.
Do I need a special warehouse depending on the regime? Only fiscal deposit and bonded facilities require authorized warehouses. Goods under definitive import can be stored anywhere, including your logistics provider's warehouse.
The regime decision is made once per shipment and governs everything you can do with that inventory afterward. Ecommex receives already-cleared goods, stores them and fulfills them to your sales channels, working alongside your customs broker so what arrives is ready to sell — see our import and customs clearance service in Mexico.