Terms and Conditions for Products of International Origin. Use of the MELI Ecosystem by foreign sellers
International Trade. Use of the MELI Ecosystem by foreign sellers
This annex explains the rules for using the services of the MELI Ecosystem applicable to:
(i) the sale of internationally sourced products sold by foreign sellers (the "foreign sellers") and imported and shipped to Mexico from abroad.
(ii) the use of MELI Ecosystem services by foreign sellers, such as Full Shipment services, Full Shipment to the United States, Mercado Ads, or other MELI Ecosystem services.
All transactions conducted by the foreign seller will be governed by the Terms and Conditions of the Mercado Libre site where they are concluded.
1. Registration and account
The seller must register for an account as a foreign seller by following the special process for this type of account. By doing so, they simultaneously accept the Terms and Conditions of the Mercado Libre sites in the countries where Mercado Libre operates. This will allow them to publish and sell internationally sourced products and use other services within the MELI Ecosystem on those countries' sites.
2. Sale of internationally sourced products
2.1. Selling
a) Obligations of the foreign seller
The foreign seller will act as the seller and exporter of the products. As such: i) they must comply with all requirements, permits, and formalities demanded by regulations for sale and export at origin, importation, and marketing in the destination country; ii) they will be responsible for adhering to current regulations and criteria adopted by customs authorities and any general authorities in each country; iii) they must bear all costs related to the exportation of the products; and iv) they must provide the necessary documents and information to substantiate the previous points, whether to Mercado Libre or at the express request of any Authority.
The listings must comply with the Terms and Conditions of the Marketplace, including the Publication Policies and Prohibited Items Policies. They must be written in the local language and identified as having an international origin.
Foreign sellers agree to fulfill the obligations established for sellers in the Terms and Conditions of the Marketplace.
b) Price
To facilitate the efficient offering of products in multiple countries, the Foreign Seller will have access to tools that allow them to manage their listings, define their commercial strategy (globally or by country), and assess the competitiveness of their offers in each market. Through these tools, the Seller may set the amount they wish to receive per unit sold (net proceeds), and Mercado Libre will calculate the final sale price in U.S. dollars by transparently applying the applicable costs for local services and international shipping, when applicable.
The foreign seller may collect the net income for their sales (i) through one or more transfers to a bank account in their name, initiated by Mercado Libre with any of its affiliated companies; and/or (ii) through other payment platforms operated by third parties when enabled. In these cases, the foreign seller will bear any applicable service fees for using those payment platforms.
2.2. Buying
When purchasing an internationally sourced product, the buyer is subject to the obligations and rights outlined in the Terms and Conditions of the Marketplace.
Additionally, the buyer acknowledges that they will be the importer of the product into their country and that they are purchasing it exclusively for personal or family use, without commercial intent.
As the importer, the buyer must comply with all requirements, permits, and practices mandated by current regulations for importation into their country. Furthermore, they must ensure that internationally sourced products comply with marketing and use regulations in their country, and cover the Import Costs.
The Import Costs are calculated based on an estimate of all expenses and costs related to Customs that must be paid to carry out the import of the product, such as customs fees, taxes, and tariffs. The payment of these costs is the responsibility of the buyer and is essential for Carriers to perform customs tasks for the importation, on behalf of and at the buyer's expense.
The buyer must pay the final purchase price, which will include the product price, shipping costs, and Import Costs. The final purchase price of an internationally sourced product will be indicated in the purchase flow, which begins with a click on the "Buy" button and concludes with confirmation of the purchase.
In the case of returning an internationally sourced product, the buyer may be considered the exporter from Mexico, and in that case, must comply with all current regulations for exportation. When the return is due to reasons attributable to Mercado Libre or the Seller, we will refund the Import Costs; otherwise, those costs may not be refundable.
2.3. International shipping
International shipments of products will be conducted through transport service and logistics companies (the “Carriers”) that have commercial relationships with Mercado Libre or the foreign seller.
Users authorize the Carriers and/or Mercado Libre to perform customs arrangements, complete and present the necessary documentation in each case, and pay the corresponding import rights, fees, and other taxes on their behalf.
International shipments will be governed by the Shipping Terms and Conditions, except for:
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the collection mechanism, which can be agreed upon differently between foreign sellers and Carriers;
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matters relating to invoicing for shipping services. For international shipments, Mercado Libre will issue an invoice to the corresponding User for the amounts they have paid for this service;
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any other particulars expressly stated in the Frequently Asked Questions.
Users expressly and irrevocably authorize Mercado Libre to provide Carriers with their personal data and all information related to shipments and/or internationally sourced products.
Mercado Libre may request from foreign sellers a local address and/or an address in their country of origin to receive returns of products in the event of cancellation of an internationally sourced product sale.
Mercado Libre may charge the foreign seller for the difference between (i) the estimated shipping value charged by Mercado Libre related to shipments and billed to the corresponding User; and (ii) the actual shipping value reported by the Carrier. If applicable, Mercado Libre will recalculate these differences taking into account the actual shipping value reported by the Carrier and the rates and conditions prevailing at that time.
3. Use of Mercado Envíos Full
The foreign seller may use the Mercado Envíos Full services from the Mercado Libre Distribution Centers in Mexico and/or the United States, as provided for in the Terms and Conditions of Full Shipment and Full Shipment to the United States (available for sellers in the United States).
4. Fees and Billing
When concluding a sale or using services in the MELI Ecosystem, the Foreign User must pay a cost for the tech services provided by Mercado Libre. Mercado Libre will generate the corresponding invoices for these costs with any of its affiliated companies.
For more information on these costs, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions.
5. Use of Mercado Ads
The use of the Mercado Ads services by the Foreign User is governed by the provisions in the Mercado Ads Terms and Conditions.
6. Sanctions
The operations of the Foreign User are subject to the prohibitions and sanctions set out in the Terms and Conditions of the Mercado Libre sites where they are processed.
Mercado Libre may warn, suspend, restrict, or temporarily or permanently disable the foreign user's account across all sites if the foreign user violates any law, the Terms and Conditions, and/or the specific rules governing the use of Mercado Libre services.
7. Personal data
At Mercado Libre, we protect the privacy and personal data of all Users in accordance with applicable data protection legislation.
If you are a buyer and want to know more about how we protect your personal data, please refer to our Mercado Libre Privacy Statement.
If you are a foreign user, we invite you to consult: (i) the Privacy Statement for sellers based in the United States; and/or (ii) the Privacy Statement for sellers based in China.
8. Special considerations for Mexico
8.1. Fees and Billing
The foreign seller must issue the corresponding tax documents for international sales in accordance with applicable Mexican tax legislation. For all legal purposes, the foreign seller acknowledges that charges for the Final Value Fee (FVF) and Fulfillment Fee (FF) include Value Added Tax (VAT) at the general rate in effect in Mexico.
None of the following entities: DeRemate.com de México, S. de R.L. de C.V., Meli Global Imports, S. de R.L. de C.V., or any of their related companies are obligated to issue CFDI, as they do not act as sellers or marketers of the product.
8.2. Storage of inventory of the foreign seller's products
The foreign seller may use the Full Shipment services from a Distribution Center in Mexico and/or the United States (available for Sellers in the United States).
The Full Shipment service involves the temporary custody of products owned by the foreign seller in a Mercado Libre Distribution Center, with the details specified for the Full Shipment and Full Shipment to the United States service. Please refer to the policies for the Full Shipment Protection Program (FPP) regarding this section.
Furthermore, the foreign seller may hire, at their cost and expense, a third party for the storage of their products in the country where the buyer resides. In this case, the foreign seller guarantees that the products comply with the requirements set by both Mercado Libre and the competent authority; for their temporary custody, packaging, labeling, and dispatch to Carriers as per the provisions in the Terms and Conditions of Full Shipments and applicable legislation. Thus, the foreign seller will be solely responsible for the custody and temporary storage of the products until they are delivered to the Carriers.
The foreign seller or the third party authorized by them will deliver the products to the Carriers for transport to the final destination in accordance with the Shipping Service Terms and Conditions of the site where the sale is finalized.
If the foreign seller directly or through a third party accesses personal data of buyers, the foreign seller will act as the data controller and the third party as the data processor. Both parties will comply with applicable personal data protection laws and the provisions in the Terms and Conditions of the Mercado Libre Developers Program.
By using the Full Shipment service at a Distribution Center or the storage service through a third party within Mexico, the foreign seller must prove that the products are duly imported and comply with the regulations for marketing in the territory of Mexico.
Additionally, the foreign seller must provide Mercado Libre or any competent authority with invoices, import documentation, packing lists, certificates of origin, bills of lading, tax receipts, and any documentation that Mercado Libre deems necessary to certify the entry of the products into Mexican territory. Otherwise, the foreign seller will assume all costs arising from actions by authorities, including Administrative Procedures in Customs Matters.
In accordance with applicable tax regulations in the United Mexican States, the foreign seller must issue an invoice that includes at least: the name and address of the seller, description, and value of the product, valid for the buyer to validate their ownership of the purchased product. Mercado Libre will consider a tax ID (RFC) valid if it has been issued by the Tax Administration Service (SAT) to a Mexican or foreign company that has accepted these Terms and Conditions, as well as the site’s Terms and Conditions of use and fulfilled those registration requirements that Mercado Libre may require, such as compliance with Know Your Client processes.
If the ownership of the RFC corresponds to a Mexican company, by accepting the aforementioned terms and conditions, Mercado Libre will consider that it has conferred a mandate to Mercado Libre for the payment of sales of the products to the account indicated by the foreign seller.
8.3. Responsibility of Mercado Libre
Mercado Libre shall not be responsible for any potential return, retention, seizure, delay, and/or confiscation of goods during customs clearance, and/or for any inconvenience suffered by the buyer and/or the foreign seller and/or the Carrier concerning customs procedures.