O National Congress may end the current federal exemption for international purchases of up to US$50. The end of the tax benefit came as a “jabuti” in the opinion of deputy Átila Lira (PP-PI) in a bill that deals with a completely different topic: the new Brazilian automotive program ( To move).
Therefore, if the text is approved by the Chamber, all imports made within Remessa Conform must be taxed with federal tax to be defined by the Ministry of Finance.
Furthermore, it is important to remember that all purchases also pay the 17% ICMS rate, with states considering increasing the rate to 25% before the end of the year.
The Mover project report is being processed urgently and can be voted on this Tuesday (7) under penalty of “blocking” the Chamber’s agenda, with the rapporteur defending the end of the exemption using the same arguments as the retail associations .
In his text, he justifies:
We envisage the possibility of addressing imports below US$50 with tax exemption in this Bill, which has been a concern for the national industry.
Lira also says that the end of the exemption is being considered to “not create an imbalance with products manufactured in Brazil, which pay all taxes”.
The president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), defends that the topic be voted on in the Mover program bill, since he has already met with several retail and industrial trade associations.
It is worth remembering that, since the creation of the Conform Remittance program, retailers have been pressuring the government for federal taxation of small imports, but the issue is unpopular. Therefore, the focus of businesspeople has shifted to the National Congress so that the issue can be regulated by law.
