How to get an IMMEX program in Mexico
Most English-language explanations of IMMEX describe what the program does. The questions people actually arrive with are narrower: can my company hold one, what do I have to promise, what goes in the file, and how long does it take.
This page answers those four with the article numbers, so you can check them against the decree rather than take them from a summary.
Editorial note. General information, not legal, tax or customs advice. The IMMEX Decree and the procedures under it are amended; requirements, formats and criteria change. Verify the text in force and work with qualified advisors before filing. This site is an independent editorial resource operated by Heberey LLC; it does not represent the Secretaría de Economía, the SAT or any authority.
Which company would operate the program?
- Buying finished parts from a Mexican manufacturer. Ask which entity imports any customer-owned inputs, where it will process them and who maintains the inventory records. Start with the supplier qualification checklist. A purchase order by itself gives the buyer no rights under the factory’s program.
- An existing Mexican entity will run the operation. Confirm the entity’s tax status, proposed facility and evidence of the export project. Name the person responsible for inventory control and check that the proposed imports and activity fit the application.
- Your Mexican entity is being established. Record what is pending for incorporation, RFC, e.firma, premises and export orders. Assign an owner and target date to each item before estimating a filing date. Use the IMMEX project inquiry to describe the stage and outstanding decisions.
- Supplying technology or materials through a shelter. Ask the operator to identify the contracting entity, the program holder and who will provide the records if you change providers. If you are evaluating this route, describe the proposed shelter arrangement.
Who can hold a program
Article 3 of the decree says the Secretaría de Economía may authorize a single program to personas morales residentes en territorio nacional — legal entities resident in Mexican territory, as defined in Article 9, section II of the Código Fiscal de la Federación — that are taxed under Title II of the Income Tax Law.
Three consequences follow, and the first surprises most foreign enquirers:
- A foreign manufacturing project does not itself establish eligibility. Check the proposed program holder’s residence, tax regime and legal structure; incorporation location alone is not the full test described here.
- Individuals cannot hold one. The decree says personas morales.
- The tax regime matters. An entity taxed under a different regime than Title II does not meet the condition, regardless of what it manufactures.
For a foreign manufacturer, common routes are to establish an eligible entity in Mexico or to produce under an authorized shelter arrangement. Confirm the legal and tax structure before choosing either route.
The five modalities, and the one built for foreign companies
Article 3 lists the modalities a program may include:
| Modality | When it applies |
|---|---|
| Controladora | A certified holding company integrates its manufacturing with one or more controlled companies under one program |
| Industrial | An industrial process of production or transformation of goods destined for export |
| Servicios | Services performed on export goods, or export services, limited to activities the Secretaría determines |
| Albergue (shelter) | One or more foreign companies supply the technology and the productive material, without operating the program themselves |
| Terciarización | A certified company without production facilities has the manufacturing done by third parties registered in its program |
The shelter modality is written into the decree for exactly the situation a foreign manufacturer is usually in: you want production in Mexico, you are supplying the designs and the material, and you do not have — or do not yet want — a Mexican entity of your own. Someone else holds the program and carries its obligations; you supply and offtake. What that costs you in control and in margin is a separate question, and it is the right one to ask before treating shelter as the easy path. We compare the two routes in IMMEX versus shelter manufacturing.
What you commit to
The export commitment appears twice in the decree — once as something you state in the application (Article 11) and once as a standing obligation once you hold the program (Article 24, section I):
annual foreign sales above USD 500,000 or its equivalent in national currency, or exports invoiced at no less than 10% of total invoicing
Read the connector. It is or, not and. A company whose total invoicing is modest can qualify on the percentage; a company with large domestic sales may find the percentage harder to reach than the dollar figure. Secondhand summaries frequently quote only the USD 500,000 and drop the alternative.
What goes in the file
Article 11 sets out the application and its attachments. In outline:
- The incorporation deed — a certified copy of the deed recording the company contract and, where applicable, amendments to the management and shareholding structure, showing the details of its entry in the corresponding Public Registry.
- Proof of legal possession of the premises where the program will operate, stating the location and including photographs. Where possession is by lease or comodato, the contract must carry a minimum forced term of one year and must still have at least eleven months to run at the date the application is filed.
- Evidence that the export project exists — a maquila contract, a sale contract, purchase orders or firm orders.
- An investment program covering plans, location and photographs of the facilities; investment amounts in real estate, machinery and equipment; the number of people hired or to be hired, directly or indirectly; estimated value of imports over two years; and estimated production or service volume or value over the same period.
The lease detail catches people. A foreign company that signs a short or rolling lease while it “tests the market” can find the file rejected on the tenancy, not on the manufacturing case.
How long it takes
Article 11 is explicit:
The Secretaría must issue the resolution to an application for a Programme within fifteen business days, counted from the day after the application is filed. For other procedures related to a Programme, the period is ten business days.
And then the part worth knowing:
Once those periods have elapsed without a resolution being issued, the Secretaría is deemed to have resolved favourably, and will issue the corresponding resolution.
The decree provides for positive administrative silence. Applying that provision to a particular file requires checking the applicable procedure, any requests for further information and the formal resolution; it is not a reason to begin importing without confirming the authorization and other requirements.
What those fifteen days do not cover. They start when a complete application is filed. They say nothing about incorporating the Mexican entity, obtaining the RFC and a valid e.firma, securing premises with a lease that survives the eleven-month test, or assembling the export evidence. In practice those steps, not the resolution, set the calendar.
The Secretaría’s rules also link the start of the resolution period to a duly integrated file, including an inspection where applicable and the periods for answering information requests. Check the current procedure for your sector before building a launch date around the statutory period. See the Secretaría de Economía rules published on 15 April 2024, rule 3.3.8, and verify subsequent amendments before filing.
The requirement that is not in the decree
Holding an IMMEX program does not, by itself, let you import. Being the importer of record and being registered in the Padrón de Importadores are separate matters with their own rules, and a company can hold IMMEX while its registry status quietly blocks the first shipment. If that side is unresolved, start with what foreign companies do when the Mexican importer is not in place.
The same applies downstream. An IMMEX operation is efficient at importing temporarily; it does not make the finished good originate under USMCA. Those are different tests, decided by different rules.
Before you file
- Is there a Mexican entity, taxed under Title II, or is shelter the route?
- Which modality matches how production is actually organised?
- Which limb of the export commitment will you meet — the dollar figure or the percentage?
- Does the lease clear the one-year forced term and the eleven-month remainder?
- Is the export project documented in contracts or firm orders, not intentions?
- Who will run inventory control once the program exists — the obligation that outlives the application?
Operating the program — Anexo 24 inventory control, discharges, and reconciliation — is an ongoing responsibility. Plan for it alongside the application, rather than treating the statutory resolution period as a guaranteed setup timeline.
What to prepare for a project discussion
A short overview of the following helps us understand your plans:
- whether a Mexican legal entity already exists or is being established;
- the proposed manufacturing or service activity;
- the planned facility location;
- whether contracts, purchase orders or other export-project documentation are available;
- the expected operational timeline.
These details help frame the discussion; they are not an automated eligibility assessment. Please describe the status only. Do not upload or paste incorporation documents, RFC records or tax credentials into the inquiry form.
Connect this task to the US entry
Recommended official sources
Check these before acting, because the decree and its procedures are amended:
- the IMMEX Decree in force, with its annexes, in the Diario Oficial de la Federación;
- the Secretaría de Economía procedure sheet for a new program, for current requirements and formats;
- VUCEM, where the application is filed and signed with e.firma;
- and qualified advisors familiar with your sector and the sensitive-goods annexes.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreign company hold an IMMEX program?
A foreign manufacturing project does not itself establish eligibility. Article 3 addresses legal entities resident in Mexican territory and taxed under Title II of the Income Tax Law. Confirm the proposed program holder's residence, tax regime and legal structure with qualified advisors. Common routes for a foreign manufacturer are establishing an eligible entity in Mexico or operating under an authorized shelter arrangement.
How long does IMMEX approval take?
Article 11 provides a fifteen-business-day resolution period for a new program and ten business days for other program procedures, with a positive administrative silence provision. The applicable rules tie the start of the period to a duly integrated file, including any inspection and information-request periods where applicable. These are not guaranteed end-to-end setup times: entity formation, RFC, e.firma and premises must also be addressed. Confirm the current procedure and formal authorization before importing.
What is the minimum export requirement for IMMEX?
Annual foreign sales above USD 500,000 or its equivalent in pesos, or exports invoiced at no less than 10% of total invoicing. It is an either/or, not both. It appears twice in the decree: as a commitment in the application under Article 11, and as a standing obligation of the program holder under Article 24.
What are the IMMEX modalities?
Article 3 lists five: holding company (controladora), industrial, services, shelter (albergue) and outsourcing (terciarización). A company holds one program, which may include more than one modality. Which one fits is a question about how production is actually organised, not a preference.
Does IMMEX cover importing as such?
No. IMMEX authorizes the temporary import regime for a manufacturing or service operation destined for export. Being the importer of record in Mexico, and being registered in the Padrón de Importadores, are separate requirements with their own rules. A company can hold IMMEX and still be unable to import because its registry status is not in order.
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