Overview

• Lawmakers on the Finance Committee approved the Sheinbaum-backed customs reform 31–12 and sent the bill to the full Chamber for debate and a planned vote on October 7.
• Key committee changes include extending agent and agency licenses from 10 to 20 years with the same renewal period, shifting certifications to every three years, allowing letters of credit as guarantees, and applying the new terms to existing licenses.
• The bill removes agents’ liability exclusions and makes agents and agencies jointly responsible for operations, adds tougher sanctions and suspension grounds, empowers the Finance Ministry on patents and express clearances, and mandates real-time inventory, video and traceability systems in customs facilities.
• A proposed Customs Council would rule on granting, renewing, suspending or canceling patents and authorizations, as the majority frames the package as a modernization to curb evasion, contraband and corruption.
• Industry chambers from steel, sugar, textiles, apparel and footwear publicly urged passage to counter illegal trade and protect domestic jobs, while PAN, PRI and MC argued the reform burdens private intermediaries without imposing binding accountability on ANAM, SAT and the Finance Ministry.