The Mexican Confederation of Customs Broker Associations (CAAAREM) has issued a notice regarding a system slowdown affecting Mexico’s customs and payment infrastructure. This issue is currently impacting processing times across several customs locations and banking interfaces.
Current Impacts
- Customs validation delays: Slower electronic validation of customs entries, particularly for larger files, has been reported in Nuevo Laredo, Tijuana, Manzanillo, Querétaro, and AIFA Airport in Mexico City.
- DODA/PITA generation: Intermittent system errors are affecting the generation of customs clearance barcodes. DODA is the Customs Clearance Operation Document, while PITA is Mexico’s automated customs processing and inspection platform.
- Payment processing: Communication issues between SAT (Mexico’s tax and customs authority) and PECE (the electronic foreign trade payment system) are causing intermittent payment rejections across several major banks.
Operational Recommendations
To help minimize potential disruptions, we recommend the following:
- Build additional processing time into shipments moving through the affected border crossings, airports, and seaports.
- Do not dispatch trucks until customs validation, barcode generation, and duty payments have been successfully completed. Holding freight at the carrier’s terminal or yard may help avoid unnecessary detention, demurrage, or extended driver wait times.
- CAAAREM has confirmed this is a centralized network issue and has advised its customs broker members that submitting additional support tickets will not expedite resolution.
At this time, the disruption appears to be manageable; however, customers should anticipate the possibility of short-term delays depending on the shipment location and stage of the customs clearance process.
RIM logistics, ltd. is actively monitoring the situation and will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available. If you have any questions regarding your shipments, please contact your RIM representative.