Collection Strategies and Quantifiable Results
The Tax Administration Service (SAT) has published precise data detailing the recovery of 6.8 million pesos corresponding to customs tax credits during a specific period of nine months, from October 2024 to June 2025. This achievement in collection is directly attributed to a proactive inspection campaign based on the massive sending of letters invitation. These communications, which function as a formal payment requirement prior to more severe coercive measures, constitute a fundamental tool within the agency’s administrative collection strategy.
The operating mechanism of this campaign was developed as follows: a total of 1,457 invitation letters were issued and distributed. These letters were aimed at demanding payment of a portfolio made up of 2,430 tax credits in the customs area. The effectiveness of the measure can be quantified in the response obtained: 569 of these credits were paid in full, generating the aforementioned 6.8 million pesos in income for the federal coffers.
Additional Context and Complementary Measures
The analysis of the data provided by the SAT reveals a broader panorama of the management of overdue loans. Parallel to the process of sending letters, it was identified that another 825 tax credits, with an added value of 3.8 million pesos, were voluntarily liquidated by the taxpayers before even receiving the formal notification. This behavior suggests an increase in the culture of compliance or anticipation of authority actions.
However, a significant volume of outstanding debts persisted. A total of 1,021 credits remained uncovered after the conclusion of this phase of the campaign, which forced the SAT to intensify its collection actions through more forceful administrative procedures. In 15 particular cases, the debtors chose to file legal means of defense, such as revocation appeals or contentious administrative trials, to challenge the authority’s determinations, a right established within the Mexican tax legal framework.
Customs inspection was reinforced through other simultaneous actions. The report, which covers until July 14, 2025, reports the issuance of 887 seizure orders as a result of investigations into alleged undervaluation of merchandise. This practice, which consists of declaring a value lower than the real value in the foreign trade operation to evade the payment of taxes and duties, is one of the main focuses of the customs authority. It is estimated that these orders generated a financial productivity estimated at 354.5 million pesos. Additionally, 116 orders were issued related to taxpayers whose tax domicile could not be located, which resulted in an estimated additional productivity of 27.4 million pesos.
General Overview of National Collection
These specific efforts in customs matters are framed within a broader macroeconomic result. Globally, the federal tax administration reported the recovery of 41,744 million pesos during the first half of the current year (January to June 2025). This considerable sum was obtained through various collection efficiency measures and aggressive collection strategies applied to the country’s extensive tax credit portfolio.
It is crucial to understand the nature of a tax credit. As explained by the tax law specialist Luis Pérez de Acha, managing partner of the Pérez de Acha e Ibarra de Rueda law firm, these obligations are generated when a taxpayer incurs non-payment of federal taxes established by law. This non-compliance can arise from a variety of tax concepts, the most common being the Income Tax (ISR), the Value Added Tax (VAT) and the Special Tax on Production and Services (IEPS). The tax credit portfolio represents, in essence, the total debt that delinquent taxpayers maintain with the national treasury.
The methodology applied by the SAT, which combines preventive communication, legal control measures and executive collection actions, demonstrates a structured and multifaceted approach to attack the problem of tax evasion and non-compliance. The data presented not only reflects a quantifiable recovery of resources, but also a clear message to taxpayers about the consequences of omitting their tax obligations.
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