Foreign e-commerce companies such as Amazon and Temu will now have to pay Mexico’s 16% value-added tax (IVA) on products they export to and sell in Mexico.
The requirement is outlined in the Resolución Miscelánea Fiscal 2025 (2025 Miscellaneous Tax Resolution), which Mexico’s Finance Ministry published in the federal government’s official gazette on Monday.
In accordance with the new rule, digital platforms including Amazon and the Chinese companies Temu, Shein and Alibaba will have to pay the IVA to federal tax agency SAT even when payment for products is deposited into foreign accounts. IVA payments must be made on a monthly basis before the 17th of any given month.
E-commerce companies are now also obliged to enroll in Mexico’s Federal Taxpayer Registry as part of efforts to ensure they comply with all relevant tax obligations in the country.
To avoid falling afoul of tax laws in Mexico, such companies will have to collect a range of information including bank account details and location from all third parties selling products on their sites. In addition, foreign e-commerce companies will have to provide electronic receipts to third parties that detail tax payments that have been withheld.
The stricter tax rules come as Mexico is seeking to reduce its reliance on imports from China and other Asian countries. Chinese e-commerce sites (and brick-and-mortar stores in Mexico) sell a wide range of Chinese goods at prices that are significantly lower than those made in Mexico, raising concerns about the ongoing viability of various Mexican industries.
Earlier this month, the federal government announced new tariffs on imported clothes and textiles in order to protect the Mexican textile/clothing industry, which the Mexican government says is losing jobs due to, in large part, unfair competition from underpriced Chinese imports. Mexican authorities have also raided stores in Mexico to seize counterfeit Chinese goods as well as products for which applicable import fees were not paid.
Obliging foreign e-commerce companies to pay IVA on products they sell in Mexico will create a more level playing field between foreign and Mexican businesses — and thus should make locally made goods more competitive.
In 2025, the government expects to collect an additional 15 billion pesos (US $719.2 million) in tax revenue as a result of e-commerce companies’ payment of the IVA.
Who will really end up paying?
According to media reports, there are concerns that e-commerce companies — whose sales in Mexico are on the rise — will pass on the new tax burden to their customers, even though it’s the companies’ obligation to pay the IVA.
“Although the 16% IVA is solely directed at digital platforms, concerns remain as to how the indirect transfer of this tax to the final consumer will be avoided,” reported the news website Debate.
“While the authorities have said that the 16% IVA will only be charged to the e-commerce platforms and not to customers, there are still doubts about how to prevent final consumers from paying it,” the newspaper El Economista said.
With reports from Debate, El Economista and Infobae
