Digital platforms such as Temu and Shein will be subject to a new tax in Mexico starting January 1, 2025. The federal government has approved a rule that empowers the Tax Administration Service (SAT) to collect Value Added Tax (VAT). ) to foreign companies that sell on sites on-line. The measure aims to increase budget revenues and improve competitive conditions in the food market. e-commerce.
The ruling is part of a series of modifications to the VAT Law that were published in the Official Gazette of the Federation last October. Indicates that Transnational companies without physical branches in Mexico must assume a tax burden of 16% when the goods sold through digital points of sale are stored in national territory. The rule also applies to those intermediary entities based in the country that deposit their economic benefits in foreign banking institutions.
The resolution emphasizes that “digital platforms are considered to provide intermediation services when, in exchange for the payment of a price or consideration, they offer or allow, through their internet platform, mobile applications or any other digital network, that their clients offer to third parties. goods or services.” It adds that all business units subject to these conditions must register in the Federal Taxpayer Registry (RFC) of the SAT and comply with the corresponding obligations.
Consumer prices on Temu and Shein should not increase
Alfonso Ramírez Cuéllar, deputy of the National Regeneration Movement, has said that the majority of these companies do not pay the Income Tax (ISR) in force in Mexico because they do not have a physical presence in the country. “Their permanent establishment is usually in tax havens or other low-tax places. What we want is for large companies, especially those dedicated to electronic commerce, to enter the accounting order of each of the markets. [en los que operan]”, he notes.
Various organizations have accused that transactions carried out on sites web like Temu or Shein avoid taxes. They allege that the commercial schemes of these firms are based on the abusive use of de minimis. This is a legal remedy that allows goods valued below a certain value threshold to be formally imported without the need to pay duties and other related fees. The exemption in Mexico applies to products with a value of less than $50.
Emilio Penhos, president of the National Chamber of the Clothing Industry (Canaive), warned last year that the sales model of these stores allows them to offer prices below the average, which limits the ability of local merchants to compete. He estimated that these platforms generate around $3 billion annually in Mexico without paying taxes.
Cuéllar assures that The new tax rates should not be passed on to consumers. He explains that the regulation does not eliminate the exemption for minor imports. The only objective of the rule is that “all those ‘little packages’ that are deposited in a warehouse within Mexican territory have the obligation to pay taxes.” The legislator estimates that this tax scheme will add close to 15,000 million pesos to the public treasury during the next year.
Analysts have suggested that new tax rules in Mexico will particularly affect online retailers of Chinese origin. In 2026, Asian companies will represent 28% of imports destined for e-commerce in Latin America, according to projections by the payment technology company Nuvei. He anticipates that within two years the e-commerce will represent around 24% of the sector’s total sales retail in the country.
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