Mexico reports fuel-smuggling enforcement gains as lawmakers seek recovery figures

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Mexican officials defend fuel-smuggling enforcement as lawmakers demand results

Mexican authorities defended recent progress against fuel smuggling, known locally as fiscal huachicol, during a meeting at the San Lázaro legislative palace. The officials said enforcement and customs measures have increased tax collections, while lawmakers questioned how much money has actually been recovered.

According to UDGTV, Gary Flores Hernández, general administrator of revenue collection at Mexico's Tax Administration Service, said excise-tax revenue from gasoline and diesel reached 311 billion pesos between January and August 2026, up from 277 billion pesos in the same period of 2025. He attributed the 8.1% real increase to stronger oversight and reforms adopted the previous year.

Carlos Lerma, undersecretary of revenues at the Finance Ministry, reported the detection of 109.4 billion liters of undeclared hydrocarbons between September 2025 and June 2026, associated with 4.6 billion pesos in collections. The National Customs Agency identified 3,109 cases of incorrect tariff classification involving hydrocarbons and petroleum products. Lerma also said Customs had removed more than 1,400 officials for various reasons and maintained 63 proceedings against customs agents.

UDGTV reported that the Treasury had previously disclosed 53 criminal complaints involving public servants, while the tax authority filed 609 complaints about alleged irregularities by its employees between January and August 2026. Flores called for investigations into possible collusion among officials, companies and criminal organizations. The original report is available from UDGTV: https://udgtv.com/noticias/mexico-defiende-combate-al-contrabando-de-combustibles/334028