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IMMEX Program in Mexico
Understand how the IMMEX program works, including temporary imports, tax benefits, and how foreign manufacturers operate in Mexico.
IMMEX Program
What Is the IMMEX Program in Mexico?
What is the IMMEX program?
The IMMEX program is Mexico’s federal authorization for export manufacturing and qualifying export services. In a typical operation, a manufacturer brings materials, components and machinery into Mexico, makes or assembles products with them, and ships the finished goods out.
Because those materials are in Mexico to be made into exports, they are treated differently from goods imported for use in Mexico. Import duty, the tariff, often does not have to be paid up front, as long as the materials are exported on time or handled through another permitted route. Import VAT can be credited instead of paid, with a separate tax certification. What is actually owed depends on the goods, their origin and the trade rules that apply.
IMMEX stands for Industria Manufacturera, Maquiladora y de Servicios de Exportación. Created in 2006 from the former Maquila and PITEX programs, it is often still called the maquiladora program.
How does the IMMEX program work?
Goods enter Mexico under temporary-import status, go into production, and the finished product ships out within the allowed window: generally up to 18 months for production inputs.
To keep that status, the program holder must:
- Use the goods within the authorized manufacturing or service process
- Export them, or lawfully close them out, on time
- Track every temporary import in an automated inventory-control system that meets the Annex 24 requirements
- File the annual electronic report by the last business day of May
Goods do not always have to leave Mexico. They can pass to another IMMEX operation, or be definitively imported for sale in Mexico, and each route has its own customs procedure.
What are the benefits of the IMMEX program?
The core benefit comes from how temporary imports are treated. Some of it depends on separate registrations, each with its own eligibility rules:
- IMMEX: less paid up front on production materials. Materials imported temporarily for export production can come in without paying the general import duty up front. Under trade-agreement rules, duty can still be owed on some inputs. Qualifying machinery can stay for the life of the program, with its duty assessed separately.
- IVA/IEPS certification: no upfront VAT. The VAT, or the IEPS excise tax where it applies, on qualifying temporary imports is credited instead of paid at the border, so cash is not tied up in those VAT or IEPS payments.
- OEA registration: more time and smoother customs. Mexico’s Authorized Economic Operator status. For IMMEX companies, it extends how long qualifying production inputs can stay, up to 36 months, and brings customs-facilitation benefits.
- PROSEC: lower duty in some sectors. Where duty is still owed, this separate sectoral program can lower the rate on listed inputs.
A company holding its own program applies for and maintains whichever of these it needs, and the responsibility stays with that company. A shelter provider, a Mexican company that holds the program for foreign manufacturers, may already have them in place.
IMMEX by itself does not determine Mexican income tax, permanent-establishment status, USMCA origin, or what you pay entering the United States.
Who qualifies for IMMEX, and how do you apply?
An IMMEX program is held by a qualifying Mexican-resident legal entity, under one of five modalities: Industrial, Albergue (Shelter), Services, Controladora (Holding Company) and Terciarización. For a manufacturer, that leaves two common paths:
- Your own Mexican company holds the program, under the Industrial modality, and carries its obligations.
- An authorized shelter: a Mexican company holds and operates the program under the Albergue modality. You operate through it while directing your own production.
Core requirements for a program holder:
- An export-focused operation with an active export project
- Annual export sales above USD 500,000, or export invoicing of at least 10 percent of total invoicing
- Inventory controls for imported goods
- A legal representative in Mexico
- Current tax and reporting compliance
Applications go through Mexico’s online single window, with a site inspection before approval. Eligibility does not depend on the owners’ nationality.
That is what holding your own program takes. Tetakawi offers the shelter path. On a Tetakawi Manufacturing Campus, you run your own factory. Tetakawi provides the building, employment administration, customs and logistics support, and compliance services covered by your agreement, coordinated as one system under one U.S.-based contract.
IMMEX programs and IVA/IEPS certification are active across the network, OEA registration is in place at most Campuses, and Tetakawi has supported export manufacturing in Mexico since 1986. Compare the two paths: shelter model vs standalone model.
Is the IMMEX program right for your operation?
It depends on how your operation would run. These four questions are a starting point:
- What your operation would import: materials, components and equipment
- Where the finished products would be sold
- How long imported inventory would stay in Mexico
- Who would manage the inventory and customs records
Whether your materials fit the program’s authorized scope matters too. The answers shape the potential savings and cash-flow benefits, and the cost of maintaining the program: an inventory-control system that meets Annex 24, customs filings, and the people who reconcile inventory and prepare the annual report.
The obligations continue every year. The export threshold has to be met annually, and a missed annual report suspends temporary imports until it is filed; if it is not filed, the program can be cancelled.
Talking it through with Tetakawi shows whether your materials, production process and customer destinations fit the arrangement, what support is available, and what preparation would remain.
Beyond the Program
IMMEX Is One Part of Running a Plant in Mexico.
The program authorizes temporary imports of qualifying materials and equipment for approved export activities. A working plant also needs a building, people, logistics and ongoing compliance. A Tetakawi Manufacturing Campus hands you a running environment, and the economies of scale that come with it.
Industries We Serve
Proven Across Leading Sectors
IMMEX supports export manufacturing across industries, each with its own materials and quality requirements. These are the sectors where we help manufacturers launch, operate and grow.
Appliance
Component and assembly work held to OEM cost targets and safety certifications.
Electronics
Assembly and test operations requiring tight process control and traceability.
Medical Device
Regulated production requiring validated quality systems and lot traceability.
Testimonials
Trusted by Manufacturing Leaders
From mid-sized manufacturers to global multinationals, these leaders asked the same questions you’re asking now. Their answers matter more than ours.
“When you expand into Mexico, you don’t know what you don’t know. Tetakawi fills those gaps, from labor and shipping to compliance and tax, and when a question comes up they don’t have the answer to, they find it for us the same day. Having that expertise in place has been critical to our ability to operate and grow in Mexico.”
Jeremy Main, Senior Vice President, Consolidated Precision Products
“Imagine growing from 100 to nearly 960 people in seven months, standing up four shifts with every position hired and trained. Tetakawi was working hand in hand with us the whole way, finding the people and bringing them to work for us. I don’t think we could have achieved it without them.”
Carlos Rivera, Plant Manager, HUBER+SUHNER
“Tetakawi is a one-stop shop for doing business in Mexico. The biggest surprise was how much support we got: they take hiring, recruiting, transportation and the legal side off our hands, so a risk-averse company like BAE stays inside every local and federal law. That’s why we’ve stayed.”
Brian Berich, Director of Operations, BAE Systems
“TE has been here since 1989 and has been evolving right along with Tetakawi. The key to this relationship is Tetakawi bringing in the talent and the human resources, and we bring in the technology and the products that need to be built here. That bond is what has kept us growing, on the talent this region has.”
Ricardo Gómez, Director of Operations, TE Connectivity
“Being inside the Tetakawi Campus is like staying at an all-inclusive hotel. I have all the resources I need to make my company profitable, so I can focus 100% on that, with the right people, the right building and the right resources in one place. A stable operation in every sense is what makes us profitable.”
Mauricio García, Plant Manager, Gemini Group
“You get people, plants, and processes, with compliance and logistics handled, so you can focus on serving your customers and transferring your culture. I have done this with two public companies and a couple of private ones, and nearly every plant I’ve opened in Mexico has been with Tetakawi.”
Jon Jensen, Manufacturing CEO, repeat Tetakawi client since 2001
How It Works
How to Get Started
Get in Touch
Talk with our team about your goals and questions around manufacturing in Mexico.
Measure ROI
Work with our team to model costs, risks, and operational tradeoffs.
Site Visit
See how workforce, infrastructure, and operations come together on site.
Launch and Grow
Move forward with a clear plan to launch and scale with confidence.
FAQs
IMMEX Program FAQs
The questions manufacturers ask most often about IMMEX, including how to operate under it without holding a program of your own.
What is the difference between IMMEX and a maquiladora?
IMMEX is the program. A maquiladora is the operation that runs under it.
A maquiladora brings materials and components into Mexico temporarily, transforms them and ships the product out. Since 2006 that kind of operation runs under an IMMEX authorization, which is why the two words are often used for the same thing.
Mexican tax law uses “operación de maquila” as a narrower term with its own requirements, so a maquiladora does not automatically qualify for that treatment.
A shelter is one way to run a maquiladora. Under the IMMEX Albergue modality, the maquiladora operation runs inside a program the Mexican shelter company holds.
What is IMMEX certification?
There is no single “IMMEX certification.”
People use the phrase for three different things:
- The IMMEX program, an authorization from the Secretaría de Economía
- IVA/IEPS certification, a separate registration with the SAT, Mexico’s tax authority
- OEA, a separate customs-security status that brings longer inventory periods for qualifying goods
The IVA/IEPS certification comes in categories A, AA and AAA, and gives a credit equal to 100 percent of the VAT or IEPS otherwise due on eligible temporary imports, so that tax is not paid up front. All three categories give the same credit; AA and AAA add requirements, not a larger credit or a longer inventory period. It is granted for one year at a time and renewed.
Without it, a company can apply to guarantee the tax with an accepted bond or letter of credit, or pay it at import.
Do you need a Mexican legal entity to operate under IMMEX?
Yes, but it does not have to be yours.
An IMMEX program must be held by a qualifying Mexican legal entity. Under an authorized IMMEX shelter, the Mexican shelter company holds and operates the program while the foreign manufacturer directs its own production.
- The program holder carries the authorization and its customs-control obligations.
- The foreign manufacturer can still have tax and filing obligations of its own.
Whether the foreign company has a permanent establishment in Mexico is a separate question, and IMMEX authorization alone does not settle it. Separate income-tax provisions apply to qualifying maquila and authorized shelter arrangements, subject to their respective requirements.
How long does IMMEX approval take?
The statutory decision period is 15 business days. A full standalone setup takes much longer.
The IMMEX Decree gives the Secretaría de Economía 15 business days to decide once a complete application is filed, and a site inspection comes before approval. An applicant with the building but not yet the machinery can receive a three-month pre-operating approval, which allows importing machinery and equipment only. Production inputs require a second inspection confirming the machinery is installed, and a favorable resolution from the Secretaría de Economía.
A standalone launch also needs:
- The Mexican entity, with its tax and customs setup
- A ready site
- A separate IVA/IEPS application, if you want the import-VAT credit
We advise manufacturers to budget 8 to 18 months for a full standalone setup. Through a shelter that already holds the program, much of that is in place. With Tetakawi, launches typically take three to six months, and on an established Campus a well-prepared operation can get started in as little as 30 days, though onboarding specific to your site, products and contracts remains.
Can an IMMEX operation sell to customers in Mexico?
Yes, subject to the applicable customs and tax requirements.
Goods temporarily imported under IMMEX cannot simply be sold into the domestic market. Their customs status and the applicable taxes have to be addressed first, and the two kinds of sale follow different procedures:
- To another IMMEX company: paired customs filings can transfer the goods without them leaving Mexico, with time limits on the receiving side.
- To a customer who uses the goods in Mexico: the goods must be definitively imported, with the import taxes paid and the import requirements met.
Shelter operations have additional requirements, so the seller, importer and invoicing arrangements need to be reviewed before domestic sales begin. If Mexican customers are part of your plan, raise that early so the proposed operation can be assessed around those sales.
How does Tetakawi's IMMEX shelter program work?
The program is already running, and the work is split between Tetakawi’s side and yours.
Your operation runs on a Tetakawi Manufacturing Campus, through Tetakawi’s Mexican operations, under the IMMEX program and registrations held for that Campus.
On Tetakawi’s side:
- The IMMEX program, kept in compliance
- The IVA/IEPS certification, renewed each year
- The Annex 24 inventory control and the annual report
- The importer and exporter of record in Mexico
- Customs entries, prepared and audited by the Campus import and export team from the data you supply, and filed by the Mexican customs broker Tetakawi appoints
On your side:
- Accurate product, material-consumption and inventory information
- Planned sales and shipments, coordinated with the trade team so each one follows the right customs procedure
- The importer of record entering the United States, with your own customs broker
You control production, process and quality.
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