A CFDI is Mexico's mandatory electronic tax invoice, an XML document stamped through the SAT. All formal Mexican billing runs on CFDIs, freight invoices included, and the Carta Porte complement attaches to a CFDI when goods move.
A CFDI (Comprobante Fiscal Digital por Internet) is the electronic invoice format all formal Mexican billing must use: a structured XML document, digitally stamped (timbrado) through SAT-authorized providers, that exists in the tax authority's records from the moment of issuance. 'Factura' is the everyday word; the CFDI is its legal form. For freight, the CFDI is doubly central: it is how a Mexican carrier bills, and it is the document the Carta Porte complement attaches to when goods move.
The CFDI system explains several cross-border realities that puzzle U.S. operators. First, Mexican companies need a valid CFDI to deduct an expense, so a Mexican shipper or carrier partner will insist on proper invoicing mechanics, and a U.S. entity that cannot receive or issue within this system creates friction its Mexican counterparts must engineer around. Second, invoice validity is checkable: a CFDI either exists in the SAT's records or it does not, which makes fake invoicing harder and gives vetting another verification hook. Third, payment workflows key on the CFDI: a Mexican carrier's collection cycle typically starts when the CFDI plus complete evidencias are delivered and accepted. When structuring cross-border deals, decide early which entity invoices whom, in which country's system and currency, because that choice determines tax treatment, including the IVA and withholding mechanics on Mexican domestic legs.
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