Mexico’s Customs Fines Jump 131% in First Half of 2026

Monterrey, Nuevo León — Mexican customs authorities collected 2.99 billion pesos in fines for trade violations during the first half of 2026, a 131% increase over the same period a year earlier and more than the total raised in all of 2025, according to the head of a leading export trade group.

Javier Cendejas, president of the Mexican Council for Foreign Trade (Comce) Northeast, said the surge reflects both steeper penalties and a broader overhaul of the country’s customs rules. Fines alone brought in 2.58 billion pesos in 2025, already three times the 2019 level.

“It is historic, it is a record-breaking collection in fines; the fines have been historic, so have the inspections,” Cendejas said at a news conference.

He said the customs reform that took effect on Jan. 1, 2026, not only raised fine amounts but also changed how Mexico penalizes certain infractions. Enforcement, he added, is becoming more selective and focused on risk signals.

“The fundamental change is not the amount, but that the penalty no longer distinguishes between an involuntary data-entry error and deliberate simulation,” he said.

As an example, he noted that the fine for failing to prove compliance with non-tariff regulations and restrictions rose from between 70% and 100% of the commercial value of the goods to between 250% and 300%. The reform amended 65 articles and added 44 new ones, he said.

Failure to comply with Mexican official standards (NOM) on commercial labeling can now trigger a precautionary seizure, rather than the simple retention of merchandise. Cendejas described a basic case: goods whose taxes were paid correctly but that have a labeling problem. Even without a fiscal loss, he said, the penalty can be calculated on the value of the merchandise.

Cendejas said Mexico calculates customs fines based on the value of the goods, while the United States, Canada and the European Union base them on the fiscal damage caused.

“The contrast we want to highlight is not who punishes more, but what criteria each country uses to determine a proportional sanction,” he said.

Beyond fines, the loss of a spot in the importer registry is a growing concern for exporters.

“For a foreign trade company, a fine can be costly, but losing a registration or an authorization can be even more serious because it can halt the operation,” Cendejas said.

He said 65,419 importer registry suspensions have been recorded since 2021, and nine out of every ten of them occurred between 2025 and 2026. Among IMMEX manufacturing-export companies, 441 programs were suspended in 2026. Definitive cancellations totaled 117 in 2023, 155 in 2024 and 170 in 2025, he said.

Cendejas said customs authorities need to automate inspections more fully.