E-Commerce

E-Commerce

In an effort to protect the national industry and ensure that foreign companies operate on equal terms with local businesses, the Mexican government has introduced new tax measures for e-commerce. As of January 1, 2025, the Mexican Tax Administration Service (SAT) will require foreign platforms providing digital services, such as Shein and Temu, to register with the Federal Taxpayer Registry (Registro Federal de Contribuyentes) and fulfill the corresponding tax obligations. This regulation will affect e-commerce giants and other service platforms like Amazon, Uber, and Airbnb, which had previously been exempt from meeting the same requirements as Mexican companies.

Let’s take a step back in time and explore the history of e-commerce to better understand the implications of these new regulations. It’s helpful to look at how e-commerce has evolved. In the late 19th century, the United States pioneered the adoption of technologies that facilitated remote commercial transactions, such as catalog sales and mail-order shipping. Throughout the 20th century, commerce became more sophisticated with the advent of tools like telemarketing, telephones, and eventually business computers. In the 1970s, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) systems enabled companies to process large-scale transactions, initially in the B2B (business-to-business) sector, before B2C (business-to-consumer) transactions, as we know them today, emerged.
The new regulation for e-commerce platforms such as Shein and Temu in Mexico is just one example of a global trend toward stricter oversight of the sector. As more countries adopt similar measures, it’s likely that we will see an international harmonization of tax regulations in digital commerce.

E-commerce is here to stay, and with it, the need for fair and efficient regulation. Mexico’s new tax measures are a step toward a more equitable and transparent system, where both foreign and local businesses contribute to the country’s economic development. However, the key challenge will lie in international cooperation and regulatory flexibility to adapt to an ever-evolving global marketplace.