The Mexican government has proposed new limits on the tax deposit regime for general bonded warehouses.

As part of the customs law reform, the government proposes that goods arrive at the general bonded warehouse within a maximum of 20 calendar days.

Otherwise, operations will have to be transferred to the definitive import regime and the corresponding contributions and countervailing duties will have to be paid. In addition, the change of regime or transfer will only be authorized if the goods arrive within the specified time limit.

General bonded warehouses

Mexico ranked tenth among the world’s largest exporters and importers of goods in 2024, according to data from the World Trade Organization (WTO). Its foreign sales amounted to $617 billion and its foreign purchases totaled $644 billion. In both cases, annual growth was 4%.

What are general warehouses? These are entities authorized by the Mexican government to store goods or merchandise, issue certificates of deposit, and serve as collateral for financing. They operate their own warehouses or approved warehouses and are regulated and supervised by the National Banking and Securities Commission.

As an illustrative example, an agricultural producer deposits his harvest in a General Warehouse, which issues a certificate of deposit. With this document, the producer obtains a loan from a financial institution, using the merchandise as collateral to finance his next planting.

Abandonment of goods 

The new bill proposes another key change in the bonded warehouse regime: the deadline for reporting surplus or missing goods would be drastically reduced: from 20 days to just 24 hours.

The measure would apply to both general warehouses and exhibition venue owners. If they do not comply with this new deadline, they will not be able to receive new quota letters. In other words, they will not be authorized to bring in more goods under this regime.

The bill also proposes changes to the personal notification process. It would now be possible to notify not only the owner, but also the consignee of the goods.

In addition, it defines the cases in which this notification is not possible. In such situations, the customs authority may notify by public notice. This would speed up the procedures for declaring the abandonment of goods and facilitate their disposal.

This reform seeks to reduce the volume of abandoned goods. It also aims to speed up their release and reduce the administrative burden on the authority.