Mexico's MVE: Phased Dates and What Your Importer Will Ask For

Current as of October 6, 2026. The dates in this guide come from an advance version that the SAT, Mexico's tax administration, posted on its website on September 30, 2026. As of October 6 it had not been published in Mexico's Official Gazette (Diario Oficial de la Federación, DOF), and the date has already moved several times. This guide explains Mexican rules in general terms; it is not legal or tax advice. Before you ship, ask your Mexican importer to confirm the date with the customs broker handling the clearance.

If you sell to a company in Mexico, your customer is likely to ask you for more paperwork, and earlier. The reason is the Manifestación de Valor Electrónica (MVE), Mexico's Electronic Value Declaration. You do not file it and you do not sign it. You supply the documents behind it.

The short version

• Dates. Under the SAT's advance version, not yet in the Official Gazette, the previous scheme stays until October 31, 2026. The MVE then becomes mandatory by customs regime, from November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027. For goods imported to stay in Mexico, the date is January 15, 2027.
• Who files and signs. The Mexican importer. The law and the rules put the declaration on the importer; the secondary sources we consulted say it signs with its own e.firma, the electronic signature issued by the SAT.
• Your part. The invoice, proof of payment, freight and insurance costs, the contract or purchase order, and anything that bears on the price: commissions, royalties, discounts, credit notes.
• Timing. The declaration's reference has to go on the import's customs declaration, so the importer needs your documents before that. Send your documents when the cargo leaves, not when it lands.

What the MVE is

Mexico calculates import duty on the customs value (valor en aduana): the price paid plus the charges the law adds to it, such as freight and insurance. Article 65 of the Customs Law (Ley Aduanera) lists those charges and the conditions for adding each one. The value declaration (manifestación de valor) is the statement, made under oath, with the elements that allow that value to be determined. Article 59, section III, of the Customs Law requires it from those who bring goods into Mexico; Article 81 of the Customs Law Regulations (Reglamento de la Ley Aduanera) lists the documents that go with it; and rule 1.5.1 of the General Foreign Trade Rules (Reglas Generales de Comercio Exterior, RGCE) says how it is filed.

Under rule 1.5.1, the declaration is transmitted for each operation through the Ventanilla Digital, Mexico's single window for foreign trade (known as VUCEM; recent press and industry sources also call it VUTCE). Its reference, which the rule calls the e-document, is declared on the pedimento, the Mexican customs declaration. So the MVE has to exist by the time the pedimento is prepared; a guide published by Trade Law College on May 15, 2026 puts it as before the import taxes are paid. In practice the order is: the invoice is registered electronically (the record is called COVE), the MVE refers to that record, and the pedimento cites the MVE.

The dates, by customs regime

The calendar comes from the first advance version of the third amendments to the 2026 General Foreign Trade Rules, which the SAT's regulations page dates September 30, 2026. It rewrites the eleventh transitional article of those rules: until October 31, 2026, importers may keep complying with the value declaration as before; after that, the MVE applies regime by regime. Expansión and TaxToday México report the same six dates.

What is firm and what can change. The document is on the SAT's website, and the SAT's regulations page dates it September 30, 2026. Its own text says it takes effect the day after it is published in the DOF, and that provisions released in advance on the SAT's website take effect as rule 1.1.2 of the same rules provides. Rule 1.1.2 says the SAT may release rules in advance on its website for information purposes only, and that the benefits they contain apply from the moment they are released there, unless an express date is given. This guide does not say how that rule applies to the new calendar: that is a question for your importer and the customs broker handling its clearance. As of October 6, 2026 the SAT's regulations page lists only the advance version, with no DOF publication. An advance version is not the final text: this year's second amendments went through five advance versions before they were published on September 22, 2026. The advance version, as posted, also does not say how importers comply between November 1 and the date of their own regime.

The Official Gazette still shows an earlier date. The eleventh transitional article, as published in the DOF on September 22, 2026, keeps the previous scheme only until September 30, 2026. The October 31 date and the six dates by regime exist, so far, only in the advance version: until the third amendments are published, your customer is working from a text that can still change.

Which date applies to your customer. That depends on the customs regime of each import, which your customer defines with its customs broker:

• Goods that enter Mexico to stay, for resale or for the buyer's own use, are definitive imports: January 15, 2027.
• Temporary imports, such as those of manufacturers under Mexico's IMMEX export program, have January 1, 2027, unless the operation is exempt. See relocating a production line to Mexico.
• Bonded warehouse, transit and bonded-facility operations come first: between November 1 and December 15, 2026.

Some operations are exempt. Under rule 1.5.1, section VII, as amended in the DOF of May 14, 2026, the declaration is not needed for certain goods that had been exported from Mexico and come back, for the temporary imports the rule lists from Article 106 of the Customs Law (samples and goods for international conventions among them), or for the complementary global pedimento of rule 6.2.1. The last paragraph of Article 59 also leaves out imports by passengers, by courier and parcel companies and by post, when they are cleared under the procedures of Articles 88 and 88 bis. Do not assume an exemption: ask the importer to confirm it in writing.

Your customer may not wait for its date. According to Trade Law College, electronic filing has been available since August 1, 2025, so an importer can ask you for the full set of documents earlier, to test its process on a real shipment.

Who signs it, and why it is not you

The declaration belongs to the importer. Article 59, section III, of the Customs Law puts the obligation on those who bring goods into Mexico: they give the customs broker handling the clearance, and the customs authorities, a declaration under oath. Rule 1.5.1 has them transmit it through the single window. Neither text mentions the signature. On that point we rely on secondary sources: a FedEx regulatory alert dated September 10, 2026 says the MVE must be signed by the importer using its own e.firma or digital seals, and Trade Law College's guide has the applicant sign with the company's e.firma. Under rule 1.5.1, the importer may enter the tax ID (RFC) of its customs broker, brokerage firm or other persons so that they can consult and download the declaration.

The e.firma is a credential of the Mexican tax system: its certificate is requested at a SAT office, and holding a valid one is a requirement for enrolling in the Padrón de Importadores, the importers' registry (Article 82 of the Customs Law Regulations). Neither Article 59 nor rule 1.5.1 gives a foreign seller any part in filing the MVE.

What you can do is make sure the person who signs has everything. Three facts explain why a careful importer will not sign on incomplete paperwork:

• A mistake means a new declaration. Under rule 1.5.1, when the information or the attached documents were incomplete or inaccurate, a new form has to be generated. The rule closes that route while a customs inspection is in progress and, with one exception, during an audit.
• The importer has to keep the file. Article 59 and rule 1.5.1 require the importer to keep the declaration and its attachments in digital form, for the period set by Article 30 of the Federal Tax Code (Código Fiscal de la Federación). Expect requests for old paperwork.
• The exposure is the importer's. Articles 184 and 185 of the Customs Law penalize failing to transmit, or transmitting late, the information that covers the goods, declarations and annexes included, and transmitting it with inaccurate or false data. Trade Law College places the MVE under those articles, and rule 1.5.1 cites Article 185 among its legal bases. Under Article 78-A, the authority may also reject the declared value in an audit: for example, when the importer does not answer a request for the documents that support it, or when the foreign supplier named on the pedimento cannot be found at its stated address.

What your importer will ask you for, and why

Article 81 of the Customs Law Regulations lists the documents the importer must attach to the declaration. A decree published on February 23, 2026 amended it: it now names purchase orders next to contracts, and adds credit notes or documents showing special discounts. The obligation is the importer's, not the foreign supplier's, but much of that paperwork starts with the seller. This is the per-shipment list from our Spanish guide for importers, read from the supplier's side; the first six items give the section of Article 81 behind them:

1. Commercial invoice (section I: Mexico's electronic tax invoice, the CFDI, or an equivalent document that meets the requirements set by the rules). It is the starting point: in practice, the MVE refers to the invoice's electronic record. Ask the importer which data it needs on your invoice, and if you correct one after shipping, tell the importer at once.
2. Proof of payment (section V). Electronic transfers and letters of credit are the regulation's own examples. The importer has its own bank records and may ask for yours so that amounts and dates match. This guide does not cover how a payment made after the import is documented: ask the importer.
3. Freight, insurance and related charges (section VI). Article 65 of the Customs Law adds transport, insurance and related costs to the price paid when the importer bears them and they are not already in the price. If you pay the main transport, as the seller does under CIF, DAP or DDP, the freight invoice is in your files, not in the importer's.
4. Contract or purchase order (section VII). Until December 31, 2026, the rules let importers opt to transmit a form (E15) with the general data of the contracts, declared under oath.
5. Anything that adds to the price (section VIII). Article 81 asks for the documents that support the additions to value under Article 65 of the Customs Law. Among them are commissions other than buying commissions, containers and packing, royalties and license fees paid as a condition of the sale, and materials, tooling or engineering that the importer supplied free or at a reduced price. Which amounts must be added is for the importer and its advisors to determine.
6. Credit notes and discounts (section X). Credit notes or documents recording special discounts. How they affect the declared value is for the importer and its advisors to determine.
7. Whether you are related. According to Trade Law College's guide, the declaration form asks whether the importer and the seller are related parties, and which valuation method is used. Under Article 78-A of the Customs Law, in imports between related parties the authority may reject the declared value when the importer, once asked, does not show that the relationship did not affect the price. If you are the parent company or an affiliate, expect questions about how the price was set, and take them to your tax and customs advisors.

Section IX leaves the list open: any other information or document needed to determine the value.

Until December 31, 2026, the documents in sections II, III and IV of Article 81 (transport documents, the packing list among them; proof of origin; and the guarantee document) need not be transmitted with the MVE, provided they are transmitted with the pedimento under Article 36-A of the Customs Law. You still send them, as you do today. Both reliefs, published in the DOF on September 22, 2026, end before the MVE dates for temporary and definitive imports, so plan January shipments without them unless the SAT says otherwise.

If you sell DDP

Under DDP (Delivered Duty Paid), the seller is responsible for all customs formalities, import included. The ICC Academy notes that this "may be difficult for a foreign seller", and that where local rules require the local importer to clear the goods, "DAP would be the appropriate Incoterms® rule".

The MVE makes that concrete. Even when you quote DDP, the value declaration is the importer's: somebody in Mexico declares, under oath, the value of your sale. Two practical consequences:

• Name the importer before you quote. Agree in writing who the importer is and who signs. It is one of our stated working criteria: when a DDP quote into Mexico does not say who the importer of record will be, we raise it at quote stage, not at the port (English home page).
• Break down your price. Under DDP most of the cost documents are yours. An all-in figure with no breakdown is likely to come back with questions from the person who has to sign.

See Incoterms 2020: who pays what (in Spanish).

What a delay looks like

Once an operation is subject to the MVE, rule 1.5.1 requires its e-document to be declared on the pedimento. Without it, the foreseeable result is that the customs broker cannot go on with the clearance and the cargo waits at the terminal or bonded facility while storage accrues.

For ocean containers, up to three charges can pile up: storage charged by the terminal, demurrage charged by the shipping line once the free time ends, and detention if the empty container is returned late. Our guide to demurrage and detention (in Spanish) explains each one.

Who bears those costs depends on your contract and your Incoterms rule. Under DDP, the seller carries the import formalities and the risk up to the agreed destination, so a hold at the port is the seller's problem too. Settle it in the contract before you ship.

A checklist to send with every shipment

Before the first shipment, ask your customer:

• Which customs regime applies, and from which date its imports need the MVE.
• Who signs the MVE, and who the backup is.
• Where to send documents, and by when. Our Spanish guide advises importers to have every item closed two weeks before their regime's date.
• Who the importer on the pedimento will be, in writing, if you quote DDP or any door-to-door price.

With each shipment, when the cargo leaves:

• Final commercial invoice.
• Packing list and transport document (bill of lading or air waybill), with quantities, weights and values that match the invoice.
• Proof of origin, if the importer will claim a tariff preference.
• Freight and insurance invoices, if you paid them.
• Contract or purchase order.
• Proof of payment received, or the letter of credit documents.
• Documents for commissions, royalties, packaging or other charges linked to the sale.
• Credit notes and discounts.
• A statement of whether you and the importer are related parties.

Afterwards: report any price adjustment or credit note as soon as it exists, and keep your copies.

How Kold Gold works with this

Kold Gold is a Mexican logistics company. We coordinate ocean, air and ground freight, with customs clearance handled by a licensed customs broker. We do not sign or transmit the MVE: the declaration, and the responsibility for the value, are the importer's. We do not promise clearance times or outcomes at customs.

What we do before the cargo arrives is check the documents against each other. We review the invoice, the packing list and the transport documents against the proposed tariff classification before the pedimento is filed. If a declared value does not match the invoice, or a weight or quantity differs between documents, we correct it with the client before the goods reach customs.

Request a freight quote (the form is in Spanish) and tell us who the importer is and which regime applies. For the rest of the process, see customs brokerage and ocean freight; for the entry requirements by product, see what Mexico imports. Our full MVE guide for importers is in Spanish.

Frequently asked questions

When does Mexico's MVE become mandatory?

It depends on the customs regime. Under the advance version the SAT posted on September 30, 2026, the previous scheme stays until October 31, 2026, and the MVE then applies in stages: November 1, 2026 (manufacturing, transformation or repair in a bonded facility), November 15 (strategic bonded facility), December 1 (transit), December 15 (bonded warehouse), January 1, 2027 (temporary import) and January 15, 2027 (definitive import). Current as of October 6, 2026, when that text had not yet been published in the Official Gazette; the text published there on September 22, 2026 still reads September 30, 2026. Confirm before shipping.

Can a foreign supplier file or sign the MVE?

Article 59 of Mexico's Customs Law and rule 1.5.1 of the General Foreign Trade Rules do not provide for it. They put the declaration on whoever brings the goods into Mexico: the importer transmits it, under oath, through the single window. Those texts do not mention the signature; according to the secondary sources we consulted, the importer signs it with its own e.firma, the electronic signature issued by Mexico's tax administration. The importer may authorize its customs broker, by tax ID, to consult and download it. The supplier's role is to deliver the documents that support the declared value.

What documents will my Mexican importer ask me for?

Article 81 of the Customs Law Regulations lists what the importer must attach. From the supplier, that usually means the commercial invoice; proof of payment, such as bank transfers or letters of credit; freight and insurance invoices if you paid them; the contract or purchase order; documents for commissions, royalties or packaging that affect the price; credit notes and discounts; and whether you and the importer are related parties. Transport documents and proof of origin are still needed for the customs declaration.

Does the MVE apply if I sell DDP?

Yes, when the import is subject to it. Under DDP the seller is responsible for import formalities, but the value declaration is the importer's: the importer in Mexico transmits it under oath. Agree in writing who the importer is before you quote, and be ready to break down your price: freight, insurance and other charges.

What happens to my shipment if the MVE is not filed?

If the operation is subject to the MVE, rule 1.5.1 of the General Foreign Trade Rules requires its reference, the e-document, to be declared on the pedimento, the customs declaration. Without it, the foreseeable result is that the customs broker cannot continue the clearance and the cargo waits at the terminal while storage accrues. Who bears those costs depends on your contract and Incoterms rule.

Sources

Consulted on October 6, 2026.

• SAT, "Normatividad RMF, RGCE y RFA" 2026: lists the first advance version of the third amendments to the RGCE for 2026 (September 30, 2026), the five advance versions of the second amendments and their DOF publication (September 22, 2026). https://www.sat.gob.mx/minisitio/NormatividadRMFyRGCE/normatividad_rmf_rgce2026.html
• SAT, "Tercera Resolución de Modificaciones a las Reglas Generales de Comercio Exterior para 2026 y Anexo 22. Primera versión anticipada", September 30, 2026: eleventh transitional article, with the six dates by regime. https://www.sat.gob.mx/minisitio/NormatividadRMFyRGCE/documentos2026/rgce/anticipadas/3aRMRGCE_2026_PrimeraAnticipada.pdf
• SAT, "Segunda Resolución de Modificaciones a las Reglas Generales de Comercio Exterior para 2026", Official Gazette of September 22, 2026: eleventh transitional article as published (previous scheme until September 30, 2026; reliefs until December 31, 2026). https://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5799243&fecha=22/09/2026 (also on the SAT site: https://www.sat.gob.mx/minisitio/NormatividadRMFyRGCE/documentos2026/rgce/rgce/2daRMRGCEpara2026.pdf)
• SAT, "Reglas Generales de Comercio Exterior para 2026 y Anexo 13", Official Gazette of December 27, 2025: rules 1.1.2 and 1.5.1, original text. https://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5777199&fecha=27/12/2025
• SAT, "Primera Resolución de Modificaciones a las Reglas Generales de Comercio Exterior para 2026", Official Gazette of May 14, 2026: rule 1.5.1, section VII, as amended. https://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5787425&fecha=14/05/2026
• Chamber of Deputies, Ley Aduanera, text in force ("Última reforma publicada DOF 19-11-2025"): Articles 36-A, 59, 65, 78-A, 106, 184 and 185. https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LAdua.pdf
• Chamber of Deputies, Reglamento de la Ley Aduanera, text in force ("Última reforma publicada DOF 23-02-2026"): Articles 81 and 82. https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/regley/Reg_LAdua.pdf
• Official Gazette via SIDOF (Ministry of the Interior), decree amending the Reglamento de la Ley Aduanera, published February 23, 2026: Article 81, sections I and VII to X. https://sidof.segob.gob.mx/notas/docFuente/5780677
• SAT, procedure sheet 5/LA, "Solicitud de inscripción en el Padrón de Importadores", Annex 2 of the RGCE for 2026, Official Gazette of January 12, 2026. https://www.sat.gob.mx/minisitio/PadronImportadoresExportadores/documentos/5_LA.pdf
• SAT, procedure sheet 105/CFF, "Solicitud del certificado de e.firma" (undated page). https://www.sat.gob.mx/gobmx/Paginas/ficha_105_cff.html
• ICC Academy, Miguel Angel Bustamante Morales, "DAP & DDP Incoterms® 2020 explained: Key differences", February 25, 2025. https://academy.iccwbo.org/incoterms/article/incoterms-2020-dap-or-ddp
• Trade Law College, Laura Camara, "Prontuario sobre la Manifestación de Valor Electrónica (MVE) 2026", May 15, 2026. https://www.tradelawcollege.edu.mx/single-post/prontuario-sobre-la-manifestaci%C3%B3n-de-valor-electr%C3%B3nica-mve-2026
• FedEx (carrier), "RegAlert: México. Manifestación de Valor electrónica (MVe). Actualización", version 5, September 10, 2026. Issued before the extension: its mandatory date is out of date. https://www.fedex.com/content/dam/fedex/lac-latin-america/downloads/2025/LAC_ES_2026_1_pdf_NA_Manifest-of-Value_cus.pdf
• Expansión, Dainzú Patiño, "SAT extiende prórroga para Manifestación de Valor Electrónica; la obligación será escalonada", October 2, 2026. https://expansion.mx/economia/2026/10/02/sat-prorroga-manifestacion-valor-electronica-octubre
• TaxToday México, Omar Hernández, "SAT establece calendario gradual para la Manifestación de Valor Electrónica", October 1, 2026. https://www.taxtodaymexico.com/sat-establece-calendario-gradual-para-la-manifestacion-de-valor-electronica/
• Kold Gold: MVE guide for importers (in Spanish, reviewed October 6, 2026), English home page and import clearance (in Spanish).

Last reviewed: October 6, 2026.