Pedimento explained: how to read one

A pedimento is a customs declaration. SAT's RGCE Anexo 22 contains the filling instructions and the appendices used to interpret its fields.

Official reference: SAT: current RGCE Anexo 22 pedimento instructions ↗

Ask for a readable copy associated with the actual shipment you are reviewing. Check whether the file is a working draft, the completed declaration or a later correction. Keep the versions separate so your team does not compare an old draft with the final commercial documents. Write down the question you need answered before reading every field. You might be checking the importer, a product description or the route. The document should be examined together with its supporting file, rather than treated as a stand-alone explanation of the whole transaction.

Start with the declaration's identifying information, customs office and shipment reference. Compare them with the records supplied by the customs broker and the carrier. Use the filling instructions linked above for the meaning of a field or code rather than guessing from its appearance. If your company has several shipments from the same supplier, keep each shipment's packing and transport documents in its own folder. A repeated product description can otherwise make the wrong file seem familiar. Record any mismatch as a question for the professional responsible for the declaration. Do not edit a copy and then circulate it as an official corrected document.

Compare the party shown on the declaration with the intended importer or exporter in your shipment brief. Have the responsible company contact check the identity information against the original company records. If the buyer, consignee and importer are different parties, write down the role of each so the review does not rely on a single label such as customer. Discuss a discrepancy with the customs broker before using the declaration in another process. Keep identity documents and tax account credentials outside the public quote form. You can describe the issue initially without publishing personal identifiers or copying the full declaration into a message.

SAT's Anexo 22 provides appendices for declaration keys and customs regimes.

Official reference: SAT: current RGCE Anexo 22 pedimento instructions ↗

Locate the code on your document and read its definition in the current instructions. Ask the specialist how it relates to the actual purpose of your shipment. Goods for an ongoing production program and goods intended to stay in Mexico raise different planning questions; your team's commercial description may not explain the customs regime. Keep the chosen regime associated with the relevant shipment records. If somebody proposes reusing a previous declaration as a model, ask which circumstances are still the same and which have changed. An example from another operation cannot establish the right treatment for this one.

For each line, compare the commercial description with the invoice, technical sheet and packing list. Check model names, materials, intended function, quantities and the units used in the commercial file. Tell the specialist if an assembled unit has been shipped as separate parts, or if several products were described under one supplier label. Keep those distinctions visible rather than simplifying the description to a broad category. Ask how the reviewed classification relates to the specifications you supplied. A supplier's existing code is useful background for that question, but it should not replace a review of the actual product being declared.

Anexo 22 includes country-code information and instructions for the product details recorded on a declaration.

Official reference: SAT: current RGCE Anexo 22 pedimento instructions ↗

Compare manufacturing information with the supplier's supporting records. A warehouse address, seller's office or pickup location may answer a different question from where the goods were made. If your purchase combines products from several manufacturing countries, organize the evidence by product rather than attaching a single origin statement to the whole load. Tell the customs broker when origin is uncertain. Ask the supplier for the underlying product information instead of choosing the country that seems most convenient. Keep the final explanation with the shipment file so later teams can understand the basis of the recorded information.

Gather the invoice, purchase terms and transport records before asking about valuation entries. Explain whether the commercial file includes services or other items that are separate from the goods. This guide does not provide valuation formulas or reproduce amounts from a declaration. Ask the customs broker how the documented transaction relates to the recorded fields and which supporting records should accompany your working copy. If a supplier has replaced an invoice, retain the version history and explain the reason for the change. Do the same for packing documents so the specialist can trace what changed instead of receiving two apparently conflicting final files.

Create a short list of questions tied to specific fields and the documents you compared. Describe what you expected, what the declaration shows and where the original information came from. Ask the responsible professional whether a difference is an abbreviation, a code interpretation or something requiring further action. Keep their explanation with the file. If a correction is considered, ask who handles it and how you will receive the resulting record; do not attempt to change an official declaration yourself. After the review, update your supplier instructions when poor descriptions or inconsistent units caused confusion. Better source information makes the next discussion easier to follow.