Mexico has no free trade agreement with China, and since January 2026 goods from countries without one pay higher duties on 1,463 tariff lines — but computers, lithium-ion batteries, monitors and industrial robots are not among them. What takes planning is the NOM certificates checked at customs, the importers' register and the paperwork behind the customs value. Here is what a company in Mexico pays and prepares when it buys equipment from a Chinese factory — checked against official Mexican sources in October 2026.
Duty: 0% for computers and lithium batteries, up to 15% for displays and UPS units
Mexico's import tariff (the LIGIE) sets the duty by tariff fraction, as a percentage of the customs value. In the official tariff, computers and their units (fractions 8471.30.01, 8471.41.01, 8471.49.91, 8471.50.01 and 8471.80.91), lithium-ion batteries (8507.60.01), monitors designed for computers (8528.52.02), industrial robots (8479.50.01) and other machines not specified elsewhere (8479.89.99) are duty-free. Other monitors and displays (8528.59) pay from 0% to 15% — high-definition ones (16:9 or wider and more than 700 lines — most 16:9 panels of 720p and above) 15%, while 16:10, 4:3 and 5:4 panels are duty-free; UPS units (8504.40.16) pay 15%, and other static converters, including inverters (8504.40.99), 10%.
The decree of 29 December 2025, in force since 1 January 2026, raised duties to between 5% and 50% on 1,463 fractions for countries without a trade agreement with Mexico, China included — textiles, clothing, footwear, steel, cars and car parts, furniture, toys and more. None of the fractions above is on that list, nor in the tariff decrees of 2023, 2024 and April 2026. The code decides the rate, and an interactive panel with a built-in computer may be classified as a computer or as a display: before importing, you can ask the tax administration SAT for a classification ruling (Customs Law, article 47) — with 0% for a computer and 15% for a display, it is worth having before a large order.
VAT 16% and the 0.8% customs processing fee
Mexico charges 16% VAT (IVA) on imports, on the customs value plus the duty and the other charges paid on import (VAT Law, articles 1 and 27). The customs processing fee (DTA) is 0.8% of the customs value and applies to duty-free goods too (Federal Duties Law, article 49). Everything is paid with the import declaration (pedimento) before the goods are released. Example: laptops with a customs value of US$10,000 pay no duty, US$80 DTA and US$1,612.80 VAT. A company that charges VAT on its own sales can normally credit the import VAT — confirm the details with your accountant.
Importers' register, customs broker and value declaration
To import on a regular basis, companies and individuals must be registered in the SAT importers' register (Padrón de Importadores). The requirements are an active tax ID (RFC), a valid e.firma, tax obligations up to date, a confirmed tax address and a validated tax mailbox; the importer also names its customs broker or legal representative and must not appear on SAT's lists of non-compliant taxpayers or of issuers of false invoices (Tax Code, articles 69, 69-B and 49 Bis). The application is filed online. The cargo is normally cleared by a licensed customs broker (agente aduanal or agencia aduanal), who answers for the tariff code and the taxes and must make sure the importer holds the documents for non-tariff requirements (Customs Law, article 54).
For each import the importer files a value declaration (manifestación de valor) supporting the customs value (article 59). It is moving to an electronic form (MVE) that the importer transmits itself; the broker can only be authorised to view and download it. For definitive imports the electronic form becomes mandatory on 15 January 2027 (joint press release of SAT, ANAM and the digital transformation agency ATDT of 2 October 2026 — ANAM 92/2026, SAT 60/2026; the dates come from an advance amendment of the foreign trade rules). Since 1 January 2026 the importer's electronic file for each import must also hold the commercial invoices, bank transfers or letters of credit, transport and insurance costs and the contracts behind the deal.
NOM certificates are checked at customs
Mexico checks its official standards (NOM) at the border for the tariff fractions listed in Annex 2.4.1 of the Ministry of Economy's foreign trade rules. For our categories: computers and monitors designed for computers — NOM-019-SCFI-1998, safety of data-processing equipment; other displays (NOM-019 instead if they are used mainly with computers), UPS units under 10 kVA and most electronic power converters — NOM-001-SCFI-2018, safety of electronic equipment; computers with Wi‑Fi or Bluetooth — also NOM-208-SCFI-2016; equipment connected by wire to a public telecom network — NOM-196-SCFI-2016. Computers, monitors, UPS units, electronic inverters and other electronics also need NOM-024-SCFI-2013: product information, instructions and warranty in Spanish. Industrial robots (8479.50.01) are not on the list, and lithium-ion batteries need Spanish labelling only when they are for household use.
Compliance is proven with a NOM certificate from a certification body accredited in Mexico, based on test reports for the exact model — request them from the factory before production. Since 1 January 2026, failing to prove a non-tariff requirement at customs is fined 250% to 300% of the commercial value of the goods (Customs Law, article 178), and the goods can be seized — now also for labelling NOM failures (article 151). Goods cleared by a SAT-registered courier under its simplified declaration, up to US$2,500 of customs value per consignee, skip the NOM check at customs when the exemption is declared (Ministry of Economy rule 2.4.11) — mobile phones and a few other goods are excluded — but homologation still applies.
Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth and 4G devices
Equipment that uses the radio spectrum or connects to public telecom networks must also be homologated. Under the Law on Telecommunications and Broadcasting of July 2025, homologation is handled by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (CRT), which took over from the IFT. The certificate is issued for a specific brand and model, and the certificate holder must be registered for tax in Mexico — the importer, a Mexican subsidiary or a local company that holds it; importers can be added to some types of certificates. Plan it before the first shipment of a kiosk, robot or panel with Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth or a cellular modem.
E-waste: a management plan for computers and screens
Desktop and laptop computers, LCD screens, cables and printers are on Mexico's list of special-handling waste that needs a management plan (NOM-161-SEMARNAT-2011). The obligation covers their producers, importers, distributors and sellers, as well as large waste generators. The plan can be the company's own or a collective one; it is presented to the environmental authority of the state where it applies, and plans with national reach also to the environment ministry SEMARNAT.
Paying the factory
Mexico has no foreign exchange controls: a company pays the factory by bank transfer in US dollars or another currency. The transfers or letters of credit are now part of the importer's electronic file for each import (Customs Law, article 59), so keep the invoice, the payment and the pedimento consistent — the same supplier, amounts and currency.
Lithium batteries: shipping as dangerous goods
Batteries and devices with batteries travel as dangerous goods. The batteries must have passed the UN 38.3 tests, and the factory must make the test summary available — the carrier or forwarder may ask for it; forwarders usually also ask for a safety data sheet, although IATA rules do not require one. By air, lithium-ion batteries shipped on their own travel on cargo aircraft only, and those shipped on their own or packed with (not inside) equipment must as a rule be at no more than 30% state of charge.
Documents for the shipment
Commercial invoice; packing list; bill of lading or air waybill; transport and insurance documents; the value declaration transmitted by the importer; NOM certificates for goods listed in Annex 2.4.1 and Spanish labels under NOM-024; homologation certificate for radio devices; for batteries — the UN 38.3 test summary and, if the forwarder asks, a safety data sheet.
How we help
We match the model to your task, check the tariff fraction against the factory's technical data, request before production the test reports a Mexican certification body needs and check that the documents match the goods. Your customs broker in Mexico clears the cargo; we prepare everything it needs.
Rules and rates were checked against official Mexican sources — the texts of the tariff, the Customs Law, the Federal Duties Law and the Ministry of Economy's rules published in the Official Gazette (DOF), and notices of SAT and ANAM — in October 2026, re-checked on 24 October 2026, and can change. Confirm them with your customs broker before shipping.