How to Prepare for a SAT Customs Audit: Digital Documentation Best Practices

What SAT Auditors Look For

A SAT customs audit (revisión de comercio exterior) can cover any aspect of your import operations from the past 5 years. Auditors typically focus on: tariff classification accuracy, declared values versus commercial documentation, proper use of trade agreement preferences, IMMEX program compliance, and complete payment of duties and taxes. In 2026, they are also checking MVE compliance and electronic document integrity. The audit can be triggered by risk algorithms, random selection, or specific intelligence.

Documentation Checklist

• Pedimentos and their digital supplements (COVE, MVE, permits).
• Commercial invoices matching declared values.
• Packing lists with accurate quantities, weights, and descriptions.
• Certificates of origin for shipments claiming trade agreement preferences.
• Classification justifications: technical data sheets, official rulings, or AI classification reports with confidence scores.
• Payment receipts for all duties, taxes, and fees.
• Correspondence with customs authorities regarding inquiries or corrections.
• Internal audit reports demonstrating proactive compliance monitoring.

The best audit preparation is daily operational discipline. Use a document management system that automatically links every pedimento to its supporting documents — invoices, packing lists, certificates, and classification justifications. Camtom's Docs platform does this automatically, creating an audit-ready package for every entry as part of the normal workflow. When the audit notice arrives, you simply export the relevant files instead of scrambling to compile them.