What a pedimento is
The pedimento is the customs document covering the entry (or exit) of goods from Mexican territory and recording that the applicable duties were paid. Put simply: it is the proof that your product entered Mexico legally.
A licensed customs broker prepares and files it, but responsibility for what is declared belongs to the importer. That distinction is the expensive one: signing a document you do not understand does not transfer liability to whoever filled it in.
The official filing instructions — what goes in each field and which codes exist — live in Annex 22 of the General Foreign Trade Rules, published by the SAT (Annex 22 text, 2026 rules).
How to decode the number
The pedimento number is not a random reference. It breaks down like this:
| Segment | Digits | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 2 | The year of the operation |
| Customs office | 2 | Where the goods entered |
| Broker license | 4 | Which customs broker cleared it |
| Sequence | 7 | That license's running number |
With that alone you can confirm — without asking anyone — whether the document matches the year, the port and the broker you expected.
The pedimento code: the first thing to look at
The code defines the type of operation, and it determines what obligations follow. The most common one in e-commerce is A1, definitive import: goods stay in the country to be sold. Others exist for temporary imports, transits, returns and special regimes, and each carries different consequences.
The classic mistake is assuming "an import is an import". It is not: goods brought in under a temporary regime carry an exit date and return obligations. If they end up sold on the domestic market, the problem does not surface that day — it surfaces in a later audit.
What to check even when your broker fills it in
Five points an importer should verify on every operation:
1. Importer details. Correct legal name and tax ID. An error here breaks the fiscal traceability of the whole operation.
2. The tariff classification. It determines how much duty you pay and which non-tariff regulations apply (permits, standards, labeling). Misclassification is the source of most discrepancies found in an audit.
3. Customs value. It must reflect what you actually paid, including applicable additions. A value "arranged" to pay less is a problem with a name.
4. Non-tariff regulations. This is where it shows whether your product had to meet a standard before entering — labeling, for instance. Better to catch it here than with the goods held.
5. Quantities and description. What is declared should match what arrived. When it does not, the person receiving goods at the warehouse finds out, not the person who signed the paperwork.
Why keeping it matters
The pedimento is not paperwork you file and forget. It is the document that:
- proves the legal presence of the goods in the country,
- supports the cost basis of your imported inventory, and
- will be requested if there is ever a review of where your product came from.
Keeping it together with the supplier invoice, the transport document and proof of payment is not bureaucracy: it is what lets you reconstruct an operation a year later, when nobody remembers the details.
Frequently asked questions
Does the importer or the broker prepare the pedimento? The customs broker prepares and files it, but the importer answers for the information declared.
What is code A1? It is the definitive import code: goods entering the country to stay. All codes are listed in Annex 22 of the General Foreign Trade Rules.
Do I need the pedimento to sell on marketplaces? Some platforms and corporate buyers ask you to evidence the legal origin of the product. Having it organized keeps a missing document from stalling a sale.
Can I review a pedimento without being a trade expert? The five points above can be checked without being a specialist. For fine tariff classification, professional support is worth it.
A correct pedimento is the starting point; what follows is getting the goods into inventory and ready to sell. If you would rather have clearance, receiving and put-away happen in one operation, take a look at our import and customs service and how it connects to our 3PL in Mexico.