DDP shipping to Mexico

What a DDP price actually includes

The tax burden on a Mexican import has three main components: duty, which depends on the product's tariff classification; the customs processing fee, a fixed charge per operation; and import VAT. On top of that come the customs broker's fees and, where the product falls within scope, the cost of obtaining the relevant NOM certificate.

An honest DDP price breaks all of that out. When a DDP quote looks too cheap to be real, in most cases one of those lines is missing — usually VAT or the certification — and it reappears later, either as an additional charge or as the cargo being held at customs.

The point almost nobody explains: the importer of record

In Mexico, whoever appears as importer before the SAT must be a natural or legal person with an RFC and the legal capacity to import. Negotiating the freight on DDP terms does not change that: it means the seller takes on the cost and the handling through to destination, not that the importer changes.

In practice there are several ways to operate. You can import under your own RFC, which gives you traceability and lets you deduct import VAT. You can do it through a third-party arrangement. Or you can operate under a regime designed for e-commerce when the volume and the sales channel justify it. Which one suits you depends on your tax position, the type of goods and whether you intend to resell in Mexico. We arrange the logistics and explain what the options are, but the tax decision is one you take with your accountant and your customs broker, and we do not give tax advice.

NOM standards and mandatory certifications

Normas Oficiales Mexicanas are technical regulations that are mandatory for certain product categories. If your item falls within their scope, it cannot be imported without the certificate, and obtaining one takes time: it has to be done before shipment, not on arrival.

The categories that come up most often in our flow are electrical and electronic goods, toys, infant products, textiles and footwear, and certain health products. In the first conversation we check whether your product is affected, because discovering it with the cargo already at port is one of the most expensive ways to lose a shipment.

Sea or air

Sea freight is the natural route for bulky cargo with a low value per kilo. It is quoted per cubic metre for consolidated cargo, or per full container from around 15 cubic metres — the threshold above which FCL usually works out cheaper. Transit is longer, but the cost per unit drops sharply.

Air freight makes sense for products with a high value per kilo, for launches where the calendar is what matters, and for urgent replenishment. It is also the only reasonable route when the product is small and light and the cost of the capital tied up during a month of transit exceeds the difference in freight.

The choice is not a preference: it depends on value per kilo, volume, the seasonality of your sales and how much margin your product can carry. We work it out with you using real numbers instead of recommending a default route.