Businesses Operating in Mexico
How do businesses issue and validate Mexico's CFDI e-invoices?
Mexico's CFDI (Comprobante Fiscal Digital por Internet) system requires all invoices to be authorized by an Authorized Certification Provider (PAC) before delivery to the buyer. The PAC validates the XML, generates a digital seal (sello digital), assigns a UUID (folio fiscal), and returns the certified invoice. The SAT (Mexico's tax authority) receives a copy of every authorized CFDI in real time.
What components make up a compliant CFDI?
A CFDI 4.0 (current version) must contain:
- Emisor (issuer): RFC (tax ID) of the seller
- Receptor (recipient): RFC and tax regime of the buyer
- ClaveProdServ: SAT product or service classification code for each line item
- MetodoPago: Payment method code (PUE for single payment, PPD for deferred/partial)
- FormaPago: Payment form code (01 cash, 02 check, 03 bank transfer, etc.)
- UsoCFDI: SAT use code declared by the buyer (G01 for goods, D01 for medical expenses, etc.)
- Complemento de Pago: Required when payment is received on a PPD (deferred payment) CFDI
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is a PAC and how do businesses select one?
- A PAC (Proveedor Autorizado de Certificacion) is an SAT-authorized provider that certifies CFDIs. Businesses must sign a contract with a PAC and submit invoices via PAC API for certification before delivery to buyers. PACs are listed on the SAT website. Selection criteria include API reliability, price per CFDI, ERP integration capability, support quality, and number of CFDIs certified per year. Businesses can change PAC providers but must maintain historical CFDIs from previous PAC.
- How is the CFDI 4.0 different from CFDI 3.3?
- CFDI 4.0, mandatory since January 2022, introduced stricter requirements: buyer's full legal name and tax regime are now mandatory on the CFDI; the UsoCFDI code must be declared by the buyer; ClaveProdServ codes must exactly match SAT's product catalog with no free-text descriptions; and additional validations for foreign buyers. CFDI 3.3 was the previous mandatory version. CFDI 4.0 improved traceability and reduced opportunities for fraudulent invoicing.