A DAY TO COMMEMORATE CUSTOMS

Have you ever thought about what would happen if the exchange of commercial goods between countries was not regulated? That is, if no institution or public figure were in charge of regulating the entry and exit of goods into and out of the country.

This practice would probably damage our economy, affect national production, and even the issue of drug and arms trafficking would be more complex to combat.

Fortunately, there are customs, in charge of regulating the commercial exchange of goods entering and leaving the country. Their purpose is to guarantee national security, prevent smuggling, protect intellectual property rights and collect taxes.

The World Customs Organization proclaimed January 26th as International Customs Day, which allows us to raise awareness of the fundamental role of customs in global trade and the economic security of nations.

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Customs in Mexico

Mexico has 50 customs offices, which are categorized into 3: Border Customs, Maritime Customs, and Inland Customs.

In 2024, these 50 customs offices carried out an average of 60 thousand foreign trade operations per day, which allowed the country to add more than 1.2 trillion dollars to its import and export volume (Figures provided by ANAM).

Meet the top 3 customs in Mexico

Border: Border customs are intended to control the transit of goods between Mexico and its neighboring countries, the United States, Guatemala and Belize. The busiest border customs office is Nuevo Laredo, followed by Ciudad Juarez in Chihuahua and Tijuana in Baja California.

‍Maritime: Also known as maritime customs, they are in charge of controlling the transit of goods transported by sea. The port of Manzanillo stands out, followed by the port of Veracruz and Lazaro Cardenas in Michoacan.‍

Inland: They are located within the national territory and control goods transported by air and land. The most important or busiest is the AICM customs office. The San Luis Potosi customs office also stands out, as it is an intermodal customs office connected by industrial parks.

Points to improve

The proper functioning of customs has a direct effect on Mexico's economy. In the 2023-2024 period alone, the country's customs contributed almost 25.5% of tax revenues.

However, customs face several challenges that must be overcome in order for our country to remain competitive and attractive to new investors. Digitalization and the adoption of new technologies has been and will continue to be key in the transformation of the customs system.

Currently we can see deficiencies in corruption, constant changes in trade regulations, lagging infrastructure and clearance times. While in Mexico customs clearance times can take between 24 and 48 hours, in countries like Singapore this process can be completed in 4 hours.

Another point of improvement can be found in the demand for B2C transactions. Currently, this type of transactions is on the rise with eCommerce, being that customs clearance systems are prepared to receive large containers for the most part.

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Thanks to the proper functioning of customs, our country continues to be attractive in foreign trade matters. The adoption of new technologies and the digitalization of its processes will allow customs processes to adapt to the changing needs of international trade.

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