Mexico import pedimento: what it is and how it ties to your supplier payment

A company brings goods into Mexico, wires dollars to the foreign supplier and weeks later receives a pedimento with a value and an exchange rate that do not match its transfer. That gap is not necessarily a mistake: the two documents have different purposes, dates and rules. But if finance does not reconcile them, inventory, accounts payable and import taxes drift apart.

At Soulbit Academy we read the pedimento from the treasury desk, not from the customs floor. This guide explains what it is, how customs value is built, which exchange rate applies and how to close the reconciliation. It does not replace your customs broker.

Mexico import pedimento: what it is, who files it and what financial data it holds

The pedimento is the electronic declaration through which whoever brings goods into Mexico tells customs what is entering, under which regime, at what value and with which taxes due. Article 36 of the Customs Law (Ley Aduanera) requires it to be transmitted through the electronic customs system with an advanced electronic signature or digital seal.

The importer, a customs broker or agency, or authorized representatives can file it. The broker's patent or authorization is granted by Mexico's National Customs Agency (ANAM).

The format and filling instructions are in Annex 22 of the General Foreign Trade Rules, which the tax authority (SAT) updates yearly; the 2026 version is on its portal. For a finance team the pedimento has three useful blocks: general data including the exchange rate, detail by line item, and totals of duties and taxes.

Article 36-A requires the filer to transmit, as attachments, the value information from the digital tax invoice or equivalent document and the transport documents. That document chain is what finance has to rebuild when reconciling.

Customs value: from the supplier invoice to the pedimento value

Customs value is the tax base for the general import duty and, as a rule, equals the transaction value of the goods. Article 64 of the Customs Law defines it as the price paid or payable to the seller, adjusted under article 65. It is the number the pedimento declares per line item.

Article 65 adds to the price paid, to the extent they are borne by the importer and not already included in the price, the following charges. First, commissions and brokerage fees, except buying commissions. Second, the cost of containers and packing that customs treats as part of the goods. Third, packing expenses, for both labour and materials. Fourth, transport, insurance and related costs such as handling, loading and unloading up to the point set by article 56.

With freight on the buyer's account, customs value almost never equals the commercial invoice.

Why can the pedimento value be higher than what you paid the supplier?

Because customs value includes charges that are not paid to the supplier. Freight and insurance go to third parties, but article 65 adds them to the value when the importer bears them. The higher value does not mean a higher supplier payment. It means a higher base for duties and taxes.

If the supplier grants a discount or extra payments follow clearance, the price paid changes. Tell your customs broker about any supplementary payment or credit note.

The pedimento exchange rate: three dates, three possible rates

The pedimento exchange rate is the one in force on the date set by article 56 of the Customs Law, not the rate your company obtained when buying dollars. For a definitive import by land it is the date goods cross the international border; by air, arrival at the first national airport; by sea, anchoring, mooring or docking.

Article 83 adds that, if payment is made ahead of the article 56 date, the payment-date rules may apply under conditions. The rate starts from the one Banco de México publishes: article 20 of the Federal Tax Code provides that taxes are paid in national currency and regulates foreign currency conversion with the rate the central bank publishes in the Official Gazette (DOF).

For treasury this means one purchase can carry three exchange rates. The first is the pedimento rate, used for duties and taxes. The second is the rate on the supplier payment date, which depends on when the company bought or moved the dollars. The third is the rate under the company's accounting policy for recognizing the payable and the inventory. They can differ, and the difference is reconciled, not ignored.

Document or event	What it fixes	Date that sets the exchange rate	Who controls it
Import pedimento	Customs value in pesos and duties and taxes	Article 56 date of the Customs Law (border crossing, arrival or docking) or payment date in article 83 cases	Importer and customs broker, under the authority's rules
Payment to the foreign supplier	How many pesos or dollars leave the company	Date of the currency purchase or of the dollar balance movement	Treasury
Accounting entry for the payable	Liability and inventory in functional currency	Date set by the accounting policy and by recognition of the transaction	Accountant and finance team

Our guide on reconciling stablecoin payments with accounting shows how to tie a payment to a ledger entry. The pedimento does not correct the payable; it only documents the base for duties and taxes.

Which exchange rate does the pedimento use?

It uses the rate for the date that article 56 of the Customs Law sets, starting from the rate Banco de México publishes. It is not your bank's rate or the one you got when buying dollars. Confirm the exact figure with your customs broker, because it varies with the regime and the mode of transport.

Duties and taxes on the pedimento: what goes to the authority and what goes to the supplier

In a definitive import the company makes two payments of a different nature: the price of the goods to the supplier, in foreign currency, and the foreign trade duties and taxes to the authority, in pesos. The first is reconciled against the commercial invoice, the second against the pedimento. Mixing them creates mismatches, because each payment is backed by a different document and reconciled against a different base.

The charges that usually appear are the general import duty (IGI), import value-added tax (IVA) and the customs processing fee (DTA). The IGI base is customs value, under article 64. Rates depend on the tariff classification, origin and regime, so they cannot be estimated without the goods' classification; confirm them with your customs broker and SAT.

Article 83 provides that importers pay when submitting the pedimento, by the means set in the rules. Many companies advance funds to the broker, who pays on their behalf and invoices them. Finance should separate duties, fees and third-party disbursements on that invoice.

The example below is illustrative. Every amount, the exchange rate and the rates are assumptions of this article and not Soulbit prices or results. The 10% IGI and 16% IVA are used only for the arithmetic; the example excludes DTA and simplifies the IVA base.

Item (assumed import)	Amount	Supporting document	Reconciled against
Price paid to the supplier	30,000 USD	Commercial invoice	Supplier payment
Freight and insurance borne by the importer	2,000 USD	Carrier and insurer invoices	Carrier payment
Customs value in dollars	32,000 USD	Pedimento	Invoice plus charges
Customs value in pesos (18.00 MXN per USD, assumed)	576,000 MXN	Pedimento	Header exchange rate
IGI (assumed 10% rate)	57,600 MXN	Pedimento	Payment of duties and taxes
Import IVA (assumed 16% on value plus IGI)	101,376 MXN	Pedimento	Payment of duties and taxes and IVA record

The company wired 30,000 USD to the supplier, yet the pedimento declares 32,000 USD because freight and insurance are added. If the company paid the supplier at 17.60 MXN per dollar, the peso outlay for the goods was 528,000 MXN, and the gap against the pedimento is not an error: it reflects different dates and different bases.

How to reconcile the pedimento with the invoice and the supplier payment

Reconciling an import means matching four documents: commercial invoice, supplier payment, pedimento and customs broker invoice, and explaining every difference in amount or date. Doing it when each import closes avoids finding mismatches months later.

Step one is to identify the transaction with a single key. The pedimento number links the supplier invoice, the payment and the broker's costs. Step two is to compare the price paid with the commercial invoice. Step three is to rebuild the article 65 charges that explain the gap between invoice and customs value. Step four is to check the pedimento exchange rate and record the difference against the payment rate.

Keep in one folder per transaction, linked to the pedimento number, the commercial invoice, the pedimento, the proof of payment to the supplier, the freight and insurance invoices and the customs broker's invoice. Our article on the Mexican CFDI invoice for foreign companies covers the tax invoicing side of cross-border dealings with Mexico.

Does the supplier payment have to match the pedimento value?

Not always, and it does not need to match exactly. Customs value is built from the price paid or payable and adjusted with charges paid to third parties, so it is often higher than the supplier payment. What finance must be able to do is explain the difference with documents. If it cannot, ask the customs broker before the month closes.

Common treasury mistakes with the pedimento and a checklist

The most common treasury mistakes with the pedimento are five, and all are documentary: not recording the pedimento number next to the payment, estimating taxes with the payment exchange rate, paying an amount different from the invoice without a credit note, mixing duties and broker fees in one expense, and booking inventory without the article 65 charges.

A short checklist per import prevents all five:

• Confirm that invoice, payment and customs value differ only by documented charges.
• Note the pedimento exchange rate and the payment rate, and record the difference.
• Separate duties, fees and third-party disbursements on the broker's invoice.
• Tell the broker about supplementary payments, discounts or credit notes.
• Store the five documents in one folder, linked to the pedimento number.

The illustrative case of a Mexican ecommerce company paying Asian suppliers in USDC shows the payment side; here the focus is the customs document.

What Soulbit V1 delivers on an import and what it does not

Soulbit V1 lets a company hold balances in USDC and USDT stablecoins and in USD, EUR and GBP fiat, under institutional custody, and pay foreign suppliers from that balance, including in batches. Each payment leaves a record with date, amount and recipient, and the traceability reports help tie the transaction to the accounting close.

Soulbit V1 does not file pedimentos, does not act as a customs broker, does not calculate or pay foreign trade duties and taxes, does not classify goods and does not determine customs value. Its local bank rail exists only in Colombia, not in Mexico. It does not finance imports or pay yield on balances. Conversion between currencies is by eOTC quote on request.