Fulfill Team·Updated September 23, 2026·Add Fulfill as a preferred source on GoogleIf your company wants to manufacture in Mexico and export the finished goods, the IMMEX program might be the best option. IMMEX allows companies to bring in raw materials, parts and components from other countries without paying import duty up front, as long as those goods are used to make products that will be exported later. Machinery and equipment can also come in temporarily and stay for the life of the program, but Article 110 of the Customs Law makes import duty payable on them when they enter. With a separate certification from Mexico's tax authority (SAT), the VAT on those imports is covered by a tax credit too.
In this guide, we'll explain what the IMMEX program is, how it works, what the requirements are, how to get approved, how the VAT and IEPS certification and Annex 24 inventory control fit in, and what changed in 2025 and 2026. We'll also cover the question most people search next: how IMMEX differs from a maquiladora.
IMMEX stands for Industria Manufacturera, Maquiladora y de Servicios de Exportación. That's a long name, but the idea is simple: it's a program that helps companies temporarily import goods to be used in production. These goods enter Mexico without paying import duty up front, as long as they're used to produce goods that will be exported.
The program is run by Mexico's Secretaría de Economía (SE) under the IMMEX Decree published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación (DOF) on November 1, 2006. The ministry's own program page defines it as an instrument that allows the temporary importation of goods used in an industrial or service process to produce, transform or repair goods for later export.
This means companies can save money on duties and taxes, run their business operations more smoothly, and stay competitive in global trade.
Let's say you're a company based in the U.S., and you want to set up a factory near the Mexico border. You bring in raw materials, machines, and parts from another country. You then use those materials to make a product, like a car part or a medical device. Once the product is finished, you send it to a customer in another country.
With IMMEX, you don't pay import duty on the raw materials when they enter Mexico. This is because they are temporarily imported, and the finished product will not stay in Mexico. You close out each temporary import by exporting the finished goods, or by moving the goods to another customs regime, within the time limit for that type of good.
Those time limits are set in Article 108 of Mexico's Customs Law (Ley Aduanera):
| What you import temporarily | How long it can stay in Mexico |
|---|---|
| Raw materials, parts and components that go into the export product | Up to 18 months |
| Lubricants and other materials consumed in production | Up to 18 months |
| Packaging, labels and leaflets | Up to 18 months |
| Containers and trailer boxes | Up to 2 years |
| Machinery, tools, molds, spare parts, test and lab equipment, IT and office equipment | For as long as the IMMEX program is in force |
Goods that are not returned abroad or moved to another regime in time are treated as being in the country illegally, so the export clock matters as much as the tax savings.
This helps you:
This is the most common point of confusion, and the short answer is that the Maquiladora program no longer exists on its own: it was folded into IMMEX in 2006. Before 2006, Mexico ran two export programs side by side: the Maquiladora program and PITEX (temporary imports to produce export goods). The 2006 IMMEX Decree merged both into one program, which the December 2024 amending decree recounts in its preamble. The SE's current rules also state that existing PITEX and Maquila authorizations became part of each company's IMMEX program.
So today:
When someone asks whether they should use IMMEX or a maquiladora, the real question is usually whether to get their own IMMEX program or run under a shelter company's program. We cover that choice next.
Article 3 of the IMMEX Decree sets out five modalities, depending on how the company operates:
If you're new to Mexico, many firms start with a shelter model, which makes setup and compliance easier.
For a foreign company, the practical choice is whether to hold its own IMMEX program or to operate under a shelter provider's program.
| Shelter (albergue) | Your own IMMEX program | |
|---|---|---|
| Who holds the program | The shelter company | Your Mexican subsidiary |
| Who is the importer of record and handles customs, Annex 24 and reports | The shelter company | You |
| What you supply | Technology and production materials | Everything: entity, plant, staff, systems |
| Time to start | Shorter, because the program and systems already exist | Longer: company formation, plant, fe de hechos, application |
| Control | Shared with the provider | Full |
A common path is to start under a shelter to prove out production, then move to your own program once volumes justify the in-house compliance team.
The IMMEX program is popular with companies in many industries, especially those with high export volumes. Here are a few examples:
If your company wants to operate in Mexico and export most of its products, IMMEX is likely a great fit.
You can temporarily import:
As long as these items are used in the manufacturing process, and the finished goods are exported, they can enter Mexico temporarily under IMMEX. Raw materials, components and packaging enter without paying duty up front. Machinery and tools pay import duty when they enter (Article 110 of the Customs Law), but they can stay for as long as the program is in force.
There are exceptions. Annex I of the IMMEX Decree lists goods that cannot be imported temporarily under the program at all. It includes items such as sugar, ethyl alcohol and used tires, and since the December 2024 amendment it also covers finished apparel and textile articles in chapters 61, 62 and 63 of Mexico's tariff schedule. Other goods classed as sensitive carry extra requirements. Check your parts' tariff classification against the annexes before you plan a supply chain around them.
To use IMMEX, your company must meet certain conditions set by the Mexican government. The core ones come from Article 11 of the IMMEX Decree and the application rules in the SE's general foreign trade rules (rule 3.2.20).
Here's what you need:
After approval, the obligations continue. You file an annual report on total sales and exports with the SE by the last business day of May (Article 25 of the decree and rule 3.2.16). If it is late, your right to import under the program is suspended until you file, and if it is still missing by the last business day of August, the program is cancelled from September 1. You also report statistics to INEGI, Mexico's statistics agency (rule 3.2.17), and each March the SE checks that program holders still meet the SAT registration requirements and publishes the program numbers that do not (rule 3.2.8).
People say "IMMEX certification" for two different things: the IMMEX program authorization from the Secretaría de Economía, and the VAT and IEPS certification from SAT that most IMMEX companies get afterwards. This section covers the first. The next section covers the second.
Here's a simple step-by-step guide:
Register a legal entity in Mexico, get its tax ID (RFC) and e.firma, and register in the importers' registry. You can do this on your own or work with a shelter company.
Sign the lease or buy the site, then have a public broker issue the fe de hechos covering the premises and machinery. Registered plant addresses have to be active with SAT.
Describe your production process, the types of products you'll make, the tariff codes you'll import and export, your installed capacity and how much you expect to export.
File the application through the Ventanilla Digital, Mexico's online foreign trade window, and choose the modality (industrial, services, shelter, outsourcing or holding company). The SE may visit the plant before it decides (rule 3.2.23).
Once approved, you can begin importing materials under the program and manufacture in Mexico without paying duty on those inputs up front. If the site visit finds you only have the building so far, the SE approves a preoperative period of three months, extendable once, in which you can bring in machinery and equipment only. Raw materials follow once the SE confirms the plant is equipped.
How long does IMMEX approval take? The IMMEX Decree (Article 11) gives the SE 15 working days to decide a new application, and the SE's older English program page quotes 20. In practice it can take far longer: at its April 2025 working session with the SE, AmCham Mexico reported resolutions that in some cases took more than 200 days. Missing documents, a plant visit or a preoperative period all add time.
Temporary imports under IMMEX are subject to Mexico's 16% VAT (and IEPS excise tax, where it applies). Article 28-A of the VAT Law, added in December 2013, and the matching Article 15-A of the IEPS Law give companies two ways to avoid carrying that cost:
Without either one, you pay the VAT at the border and credit it later, which ties up working capital on every inbound shipment. SAT sets the requirements for the certification in its general foreign trade rules (RGCE), and the law requires it to be an adequate control of your temporary import operations. The certification also opens other doors: the SE's January 2025 exception for the apparel change, for example, was open only to companies registered in SAT's company certification scheme.
Every company importing under IMMEX has to keep an automated, permanent inventory control system that shows the status of its foreign trade goods at any moment and is available to customs. That obligation is in Article 59, section I of the Customs Law and Article 24 of the IMMEX Decree. SAT's general foreign trade rules spell out the system in their Annex 24, which is why people call it "Annex 24" (Anexo 24).
In practice, the system has to tie every temporary import declaration (pedimento) to what was consumed, exported, scrapped or moved to another regime, so you can prove each input left within its time limit. Article 109 of the Customs Law separately requires IMMEX companies to declare to customs what share of their temporary imports was returned, what was lost as waste and what went to the Mexican market. The stakes are high: under Article 59, if you fail to keep it, goods you own or hold that are the same as those you imported are presumed to be of foreign origin.
Annex 24 is also becoming the authority's window into your operation. The SE's Oficio 400.2025.001 required companies seeking its apparel exception to give the authority online access to their Annex 24 system. If you run a warehouse or 3PL flow inside an IMMEX operation, your warehouse management system data has to reconcile with Annex 24, not just with your own stock counts.
IMMEX helps companies cut costs, grow faster, and expand into new markets. Here are the biggest advantages:
You avoid paying import duty up front on raw materials and components as long as the finished product is exported, and with SAT certification the VAT is covered by a 100% credit. Machinery and equipment still pay duty when they enter. Note the duty exception for goods exported to the U.S. or Canada, covered below.
Labor and overhead costs in Mexico are often lower than in the U.S. or Europe. IMMEX adds tax relief to those savings.
Factories near the Mexico border offer quick shipping routes to the U.S. This is great for just-in-time supply chains.
You can adjust production levels without paying import duty up front on every shipment of raw materials.
IMMEX works for small startups and large global firms, as long as they meet the export test. It scales with your business as it grows.
Let's compare the IMMEX model with traditional importing.
| Feature | IMMEX program | Traditional import |
|---|---|---|
| Import duty | Deferred on raw materials, parts, components and packaging while they are in the program. Machinery and equipment pay duty when they enter (Customs Law Article 110). Deferred duty can come due on non-originating inputs in goods exported to the U.S. or Canada (USMCA Article 2.5) | Paid at entry |
| VAT | Covered by a 100% credit with SAT certification, or guaranteed with a bond | Paid at entry and credited later |
| Export requirement | USD 500,000 a year or 10% of sales | None |
| Time limits | 18 months for inputs, life of the program for machinery | None |
| Best for | Manufacturing for export | Selling in Mexico |
IMMEX is ideal if you're building a production process that ends with exporting goods. If you're selling only inside Mexico, IMMEX might not be the best choice.
IMMEX has tightened since late 2024. The changes that matter most:
IMMEX 4.0 is the name the Secretaría de Economía and industry groups have used since 2025 for a planned redesign of the program under Plan México. At an April 2025 working session with AmCham Mexico, the SE described its goals as raising domestic content in exports, integrating local suppliers, creating 1.5 million jobs and simplifying procedures through a single digital file. Treat it as a direction, not a rule: until a change is published in the DOF, the 2006 decree and its amendments govern your program.
Yes, with one important limit. Article 2.5 of the USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement) restricts duty deferral programs like IMMEX. When a good made under IMMEX is exported to the U.S. or Canada, Mexico assesses duty on the non-originating inputs as if they had been imported for domestic use, and can waive it only up to the lesser of the Mexican duty and the duty paid in the destination country. Article 63-A of Mexico's Customs Law makes those duties payable. The same Article 2.5 limits duty drawback, so the logic will be familiar if you have claimed drawback in the U.S.
In practice: if your finished good enters the U.S. at a zero duty rate under USMCA, there is little or nothing to offset, and Mexican duty on inputs from outside North America can come due. Article 2.5 does not apply to originating inputs, to goods returned in the same condition they were imported, or to exports outside North America. Work through this with your customs broker before you set your sourcing.
This makes Mexico a popular choice for cost-effective manufacturing and export, as long as the sourcing is planned with USMCA in mind.
Ask yourself:
If you said yes to most of these, then the IMMEX program could help your company operate in Mexico more efficiently and profitably. If you mainly need to hold imported inventory before it ships on, look at bonded warehouses and foreign trade zones instead.
IMMEX is a Mexican government program that lets an approved company in Mexico import raw materials, parts and components temporarily, without paying import duty up front, to make or service goods for export. It can also bring in machinery and equipment temporarily for the life of the program, though duty is paid on those when they enter. The Secretaría de Economía grants it under the 2006 IMMEX Decree.
Industria Manufacturera, Maquiladora y de Servicios de Exportación: the manufacturing, maquiladora and export services industry.
Yes, the program holder must be a company resident in Mexico. A foreign company that does not want to form one can operate under a shelter provider's IMMEX program.
Up to 18 months for raw materials, components and packaging, up to two years for containers and trailer boxes, and for the life of the program for machinery and equipment.
No. The IMMEX program is authorized by the Secretaría de Economía. The VAT and IEPS certification is a separate SAT registration that turns the VAT on temporary imports into a 100% tax credit.
No. Any foreign company can own a Mexican subsidiary with an IMMEX program, or work through a shelter. The export test counts sales abroad, not sales to the U.S. alone.
The IMMEX program is a smart way for manufacturers to lower costs, defer import duty on inputs, and run export operations smoothly in Mexico. Whether you're in the automotive, medical device, or electronics industry, IMMEX gives you tools to work faster, leaner, and more competitively, as long as your sourcing is planned around the USMCA rules above. The price of those benefits is compliance: the export test, the time limits, Annex 24 and the annual report.
But navigating regulations, choosing the right location, or finding the right partner in Mexico can feel overwhelming, especially if it's your first time.
There's no one-size-fits-all answer. But with Fulfill.com, you don't have to figure it out alone.
Whether you're exploring IMMEX, bonded warehousing, or looking to set up near the Mexico border, we'll connect you with logistics partners that fit your operation. Start by browsing warehouse and fulfillment providers in Mexico or bonded warehouse providers, and ask each one directly about its experience with temporary imports, export tracking and Annex 24 reconciliation.
Fulfill.com isn't just a directory; we're your partner in making smart, efficient fulfillment decisions. Tell us what your operation needs, and when you talk to the providers we match you with, ask whether they can:
Let us connect you with fulfillment partners who are ready to help, whether you need warehousing, freight forwarding, or complete 3PL solutions.
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