Re-printed from    www.BajaInsider.com

Car Importation MexicoUpdated April 2, 2014
The short answer is wait - enforcement of non-imported cars has been suspended.
Like many countries have done since the economic turn of the early century, Mexico has been closing loopholes in existing tax sources to raise more money for expanding social programs. In 2014 the rules and fees for importation of vehicles from north of the border were significantly changed, dramatically increasing fees, paperwork required and who would be allowed to act as agent.
Border residents that had made their living for decades as vehicle importers suddenly found themselves 'unqualified' and those that continued in the business found it reduced by 30% over the number of cars usually imported in that half of the year. The result was a number of border-crossing closing demonstrations by dealers and importers that shut down both Otay Mesa and San Ysidro. You can only imagine the chaos resulting.

This is an election year in Mexico and everything becomes a political football. The PRI wrestled control of the presidency from PAN of Fox and Calderon, and many feel that the PRI has reverted to its outdated conservative polices and protectionism. The importation law changes have been pointed out to benefit the wealthy in forcing purchase of new cars imported or locally manufactured cars, while denying access to used cars potentially protected under NAFTA and affecting the 85% of Mexicans who will never own a new car.
As the effects of a reduction of 30% in the availability of quality used cars the values of existing imported cars rose about 20%.
Where it stands now...

On March 16, 2015 Aduana stated there would be no adjustment to the new importation rules and fees and restrictions would remain as revised in 2014, despite protests. The requirement of a document stating country of origin would also be required. Since most North American car owners have no idea where the original of that document may have ended up, it required additional filing.

On March 18, 2015 the Used Car Dealers & Importers of the Border Region won an injunction against the current importation requirements.
Later the same day Aduana announced that enforcement of driving non-imported cars will be suspended through the end of 2015 or until the fee structure and requirements can be resolved.

On Monday, March 23, 2015 the PAN jumped right on this and pointed out that the protectionist policies of the PRI was affecting "the 85% of Mexicans that will never own a new car" and need to purchase quality import from north of the border. and how it was affecting a large number of car dealers and importers that had made their living from this business, reducing imports by 30% in a 6 month period. Remember, this is an election year.
The proposed new structure is amazingly similar to what had existed before, with a limit on how old a car may be and how young. Fees are determined on book value of the car, not what you may present a doctored receipt for what you bought it from your uncle for.
So, for right now cars may be imported, through the new system at inflated fees with special requirements, or you can wait., because they won't be enforcing driving an non imported car for the rest of 2015 or... now here is the tricky part... until the situation is resolved.
How this will play out will likely be in a way that give some leeway to cars already in the country, but know there is a good chance that sometime in the next year you will have to take a car back to the border for a couple of days to be imported, should the old system be returned.
Who must drive an imported vehicle?

AT THIS MOMENT April 2, 2015 – Nobody. The rules have been suspended. Even Mexicans can drive a non-imported car, for now.
What is likely to happen and who will need to import their vehicle
It is probable that the rules on importation will be returned to very close to what they were prior to 2014. The concession is likely to be enforcement to increase revenue. Local police can ticket and impound your vehicle once the tags are out of date, but they will not be able to establish your residency in relation to the importation of the vehicle. The state of issue of your driver license will have to match your plates and also be current.
However, if you are stopped by a federal highway officer, immigration officer, military or Aduana officer you can be required to show proof of visa, being tourist 180 day, Temporary or Permanent. You will be required to show proof of Mexican liability insurance to drive on Federal highways. Previous enforcement included Permanent Resident Visa holders in those that must drive imported vehicles.
This presents a problem for some "permanent" residents, as the visa no longer has a time limit on how long you can be out of the country. A legitimate permanent resident card holder could spend 6 months or more with the same car north of the border.
I am certainly not a mind reader of the Mexican congress, but if you are going to bring a vehicle into the country under this suspension I would anticipate that the rule affecting permanent residents to drive imported cars will fall in the favor of the tax man in the compromise.
For as long as I can remember I have been told that a person holding a Mexican driver's license can not drive a car with foreign plates. I would expect this to stand. There may be a grace period after the importation issue is resolved, but the suspension of enforcement will leave a big hole in government income, it will be resolved quickly I think.
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Below is information from the previous update of this information by Publisher James Glover. Everything is suspended as of right now, but it will give you a frame work to see how the previous rule was enforced and what to expect in the near future...
Recently, a good friend of mine that lives at the border and she is Mexican yet has U.S. Driver's licenses and drove an American plated car into TJ and was detained. She has done this with friends many times before and yet yesterday she was detained and is not only looking at a $3000USD fine but jail time and the confiscation of the vehicle! The vehicle was borrowed from an American friend she was doing a favor for and if the vehicle is consider to be of greater value than $10,000 she must go to jail even if it is just for a few days. Pretty tough for a young single mother. Yes, they are now even cracking down on people at the border like they never have before!
I called the owner of ACV concerning this yesterday to find out that he not only could not help her out of this mess, but that a good friend of his just did go to jail for driving an American plated vehicle. So, take your chances if you like but we suggest you import your vehicle and get insurance and be legal.
It has also been against the law for anyone to store a foreign vehicle in Mexico unless it is in a bonded storage lot of which there are very few in Baja. Many foreigners leave their foreign plated extra car behind at their second home or a friend’s and while few have been in trouble for doing so it is not legal and you can have your vehicle confiscated if it is found to be left on private property. This too has been debated by many ... People just because you and or others get away with something even for years does not make it legal.

Import cars more than 5 years old So, for whatever reason you may want or need to import a vehicle these are the steps that you must make in order to properly import, register and insure your foreign vehicle from the United States or Canada.
First you must use a customs broker or freight forwarder to complete these steps and be sure when you contact them that you receive an estimate of the total costs to do so, which will require you providing the VIN (Vehicle Id number) make, model and year of manufacture. These costs to import should include all charges the bulk of which is the 16% IVA (Sales tax) based on vehicle value (Vehicle value determined by Mexico's Aduana many times is less than “Blue Book”) and then the broker’s fees and a few government fees.

Confirm with the broker that this is the total costs with no extra charges later so that you know exactly what they will want for payment and in many cases cash is what they will require, so confirm the method of payment as well. They will also let you know if there is any problem with importing your vehicle at this time.

Not all vehicles can be imported into Mexico. Your car for example must be at least 5 years old and not over 30 years old FOR Baja and Baja California Sur. Over 30 years old is considered a classic and may still be imported with additional permits required. The age of vehicle for obtaining Mexican National plates for the mainland of Mexico must be 8 years old and only NAFTA vehicles (VIN begins with a 1,2,3,4,or5) with some exceptions. For example my VW Touareg can only be imported as a vehicle for the Frontera (Baja) since the VIN begins with a “W” and yet you may purchase a new one in Mainland Mexico that was imported as new by Volkswagen of Mexico.
We recommend using the ACV Import Export Company as I personally used them in October of 2013 and they handle it very professionally and quickly.
The next step is to have your vehicle cleared by U.S. customs if it is coming from the U.S. and this can take up to a week to complete. You may wait at the border while this step is being done or you may send your original title to the freight forwarder so that they can do this before you arrive with your car. My vehicle was recently purchased and not registered in my name so I also provided a copy of the Bill of Sale but since the titled had been signed over it was not necessary. If you send your original title in advance to the importer your car could possibly be exported from the U.S. and imported into Mexico on the same day. It is the American or Canadian side that requires up to a week, generally less, to be sure the car is not stolen and is prepared to be properly exported. The Mexican brokers can if prepared in the morning have your car imported and in Tijuana the same day. It is this checking and exporting of the car from the U.S. That requires the car be at the border. You may find however importers that can do this after the car is south of the border but they are either not exporting your or getting it exported by paying somebody off which of course is not completely legal But is being done and allowed on the Mexican side because of the quantity of cars that are so far south of the border already.
The next step after forwarding your title is to take everything out of your car. Leave nothing but the spare tire and jack. Everything else must be out of the car or the brokers and authorities will refuse to do the job. That means if you are traveling south and have a car full of stuff you will have to arrange to leave it in the U.S. till the car arrives on the Tijuana side and then you will have to cross back into the U.S. to pick up your goods. The car being empty is really for your protection while it can be a hassle no one wants to be responsible for your personal goods. You may also of course leave your goods on the Mexican side of the border and then cross back just to import the empty vehicle.
TrooperYou should now prepare copies of your Mexican driver license or a Government issued Photo ID (Valid US License is accepted) which is required. When you leave your vehicle the broker should photograph the entire care inside and out. This is for your protection so that you and the brokers are sure if there has been any damage done to your car while it is in their hands.
Leave your copy of Drivers license and make your payment and be sure to get a receipt or factura if needed and be sure to remove your U.S. or Canadian plates before you leave your car. Once notified you may go pick up your car on the Mexican side. The folks at ACV offered to deliver mine to me at my hotel and in most cases will help get your car to you if need be. Now it is my recommendation to get a bid for your insurance before you import your car. Once you have your car imported you will need to fax or email copies of the Hojas de Pedimiento de Importacion (Green Sheets) to the insurance broker and your payment to activate your Mexican insurance. We recommend West Coast Insurance agents as we actually insure our Mexican plated vehicles with them and have been satisfied with their price, coverage and service.
Paperwork to Save
You will receive a factura (official receipt) for your importation. Hold on to this document in a safe place, as it can be useful when you in turn sell the car in Mexico.
The final import papers or Pedimiento de Importacion will either be green for Frontera or White sheets for National plated vehicles. The majority of what you will pay is for the I.V.A. (Sales tax) and it will be based on the value of the import set by the customs agents many times using the U.S. “Blue Book” values. The difference between Frontera plates used to be partly the taxation but they will require 16% IVA for either but the national plates will cost more and are for use in all of Mexico. The Frontera plates are only for Baja California and Baja California Sur and will be treated as foreign plates if you go to mainland Mexico. This means a bond is required just as if you had U.S. plates and therefore the National plates do have greater value at resale.

You will get your original title back and it will be stamped with the date of export and is therefore no longer valid in the U.S. and the vehicle would have to go through the process of being exported if you want U.S. or Canadian plates again. It is legal to drive Mexican plated vehicles in the U.S. and there is tourist insurance from Mexican carriers for those that want to take their vehicles back to U.S. for a trip. My Mexican plated insurance that I purchased from West Coast Insurance Agents is a Qualitas Insurance policy that already has extended liability (only)coverage for the U.S. and Canada.
Once you have the car imported you want to go to the area you live in Mexico to register it not at the border unless you live there. In order to legally drive your vehicle without plates from the border you should go to the Transito and obtain a temporary 30 day permit. If this is not easily feasible you may copy your Hojas de Pedimiento and put the first page in the back window for the police to see. I drove my car south to Cabo with no problems and then obtained a 30 day permit at Tranisto in Cabo till I had time to get my Baja plates. The following week I registered the car in one day once I paid the fees (tenencia) at Secrataria de Finanzas del Gobierno de Estado. These Tenencia fees are not that much and depend on the age and type of car I then returned to the Transito office to finish the inspection, registration and obtained my plates. You will need to have a comprabante (Bill from your Mexican residence to prove your address) copies of your driver’s license, your immigration documents (tourist card, temp. or permanent resident card) the importation papers (green sheets) and factura (Invoice from importer) that you will be given when you pick your car up
You may only import one vehicle a year without having to become a dealer. If you want to put the car in your business name then have copies of your corporation (persona morale) or papers from Hacienda for your sole proprietorship (persona fisica).
It is not that daunting of a process and once you have done it like a lot of things it is much easier the second time. If you have further questions you may email me or speak directly with a freight forwarder like ACV imports. Happy and safe driving and be sure to look at our most current Bajainsider Road Report) before driving long distances in Baja.
By James Glover