8. What other type of regulations or procedures should be considered upon importing goods into Mexico?

There are several regulations that should be complied with in order to avoid problems during the import process, namely:

a) NOMS. These are official technical standards issued by the Ministry of Economy describing specifications on products sold in Mexico.

b) LABELS. All imported goods should include labels that allow identifying its general information as required by the Ministry of Economy.

c) HEALTH. There are several health regulations that control and restrict the import of certain products for sanitary measures.

Besides these regulations, you should keep in mind that only those who have obtained an import permit from the Ministry of Economy are allowed to import products into Mexico. That means that in order to import any product, you should establish presence in Mexico through a legal entity and obtain an import permit (it is possible through a distributor).

Generally it is the buyer who takes care of the import process, either by him or through the use of a commercial house (comercializadora). In either case, you should make sure that the legal commercial relationship is kept with the buyer and not any third person.

Once this is settled, you will need an import declaration (pedimento) completed by a Mexican customs broker or forwarding agent, along with the commercial invoice, packing list and the bill of lading. If the goods are imported form a country with which Mexico has a trade agreement, you should also include the relevant certificate of origin.

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