Brazil charges five or six taxes on every import, one of them on top of itself. Here is the tariff, the full tax stack with a worked example, who can import, the new DUIMP declaration, how Paraguayan goods enter duty-free, e-commerce parcels and the regimes that cut the bill.
Brazil is Latin America’s biggest import market and one of its most complicated. A product does not face one import tax but five or six: the import duty, the federal excise (IPI), two social contributions (PIS and COFINS), the state VAT (ICMS), and fees on freight and on the declaration itself. They are calculated on different bases, one of them on top of itself, and the result is that taxes paid at the border can exceed 60% of the goods’ value.
The good news is that much of that is recoverable for a registered business, and that goods of Mercosur origin — including Paraguayan goods — pay no import duty. This guide explains the tariff, the tax stack with a worked example, registration, the new single import declaration (DUIMP), the Paraguayan angle, e-commerce parcels, special regimes and the changes of 2025–2026.
For a side-by-side comparison of all six markets, see our regional customs guide.
Brazil applies the Mercosur common external tariff (TEC) on the eight-digit Mercosur nomenclature (NCM). The simple average applied tariff is about 12%, with most rates between 0% and 20% and a ceiling of 35% for many finished goods. Each Mercosur country may keep a list of national exceptions; in 2025 Brazil’s list was raised to 150 codes until 2028 (Paraguay’s to 699 until 2030).
Capital and IT goods
In February 2026 Brazil raised duties on many capital goods (BK) and IT goods (BIT) from 0% to 7.2%, and some intermediate rates to 12.6%, then zeroed 105 items again after complaints.
Ex-tarifário
Capital and IT goods with no equivalent Brazilian production can obtain a 0% duty by application; thousands of items are approved, with validity extended to April 2028.
Steel
Quota-tariff system with 25% above the quota on many steel products, plus anti-dumping duties on Chinese and Indian steel.
Electric vehicles
Duty rising to 35% on built-up EVs and SKD kits from July 2026; CKD kits from January 2027, with a zero-duty quota.
The lesson for importers: the tariff is not static. Check the NCM code and any Gecex resolution affecting it in the month you plan to ship, not the year before.
Law and practice: WTO tariff profile 2025; Mercosur CMC Decision 01/25; Gecex Resolutions 852, 853 and 866/2026 and 942/2026; EY Brazil alert, February 2026.
| Tax | Rate | Base | Cost or credit? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Import duty (II) | Mercosur common external tariff; Brazil’s average about 12%, up to 35% for most goods | Customs value (CIF) | Cost |
| Federal excise (IPI) | By product (TIPI table) | CIF + II | Credit for industrial importers |
| PIS-Importação | 2.10% | Customs value | Credit in the non-cumulative regime |
| COFINS-Importação | 9.65% (+0.6% in 2026 on listed goods) | Customs value | Credit in the non-cumulative regime |
| State VAT (ICMS) | Usually 17–20%, by state | Grossed up: all of the above ÷ (1 − rate) | Credit for resellers and manufacturers |
| Merchant marine levy (AFRMM) | 8% of ocean freight | Freight | Cost; none on road imports |
| Siscomex fee | About R$154 for a one-item declaration | Per declaration | Cost |
The order matters. The duty is calculated on the customs value; IPI on value plus duty; PIS and COFINS only on the customs value (after a 2013 court ruling removed ICMS from their base); and ICMS on everything — value, duty, IPI, PIS, COFINS and fees — grossed up, so that the ICMS forms part of its own base. An 18% ICMS rate therefore costs about 22% of the pre-ICMS amount.
ICMS rates differ by state: 18% in São Paulo and Minas Gerais, 17% in Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, 19% in Mato Grosso do Sul, 22% in Rio de Janeiro including a surcharge. Imported goods resold to another state carry a 4% interstate rate, which is why location of the importing company matters.
Law and practice: Law 10.865/2004 (PIS/COFINS-Importação) and Law 14.973/2024 (additional COFINS phase-down); Law 14.301/2022 (AFRMM 8%); Senate Resolution 13/2012 (4% interstate rate).
| CIF US$100,000, II 14%, IPI 10%, ICMS 18% | Non-Mercosur origin | Paraguayan origin (II 0%) |
|---|---|---|
| Import duty | 14,000 | 0 |
| IPI (on CIF + II) | 11,400 | 10,000 |
| PIS 2.1% | 2,100 | 2,100 |
| COFINS 9.65% | 9,650 | 9,650 |
| ICMS 18%, grossed up | 30,106 | 26,726 |
| Total taxes at clearance | 67,256 (67% of CIF) | 48,476 (48% of CIF) |
| Of which pure cost, if all credits are used | about 14,000 | about 0 |
Two figures in the table matter. The first is the cash at clearance: two-thirds of the goods’ value for a non-Mercosur product. The second is the pure cost: a manufacturer or reseller in the non-cumulative regime can credit IPI, PIS, COFINS and ICMS against its own sales taxes, so the true cost is mainly the import duty — about 14% here, and nothing for Paraguayan goods. A company in the simplified Simples Nacional regime, or a final consumer, cannot recover most of it.
Law and practice: Illustrative calculation; sea freight would add AFRMM, and fees would enter the ICMS base.
Brazil’s consumption tax reform also applies at the border. In 2026, a test year, imports show a 0.9% CBS and 0.1% IBS that are calculated but not paid. From 2027, the federal CBS replaces PIS and COFINS, and a selective excise (Imposto Seletivo) applies to harmful goods, imports included. Between 2029 and 2032 the state ICMS is phased into the IBS, with the old system gone in 2033. Importers should make sure their systems classify items correctly now, because the classification determines the treatment under the new taxes.
Law and practice: Complementary Law 214/2025. See our guide to the CBS and IBS reform.
Only a company registered in Brazil can import commercially, and it must first be authorised in Siscomex, the foreign-trade system — the registration known as RADAR. The type of registration sets how much it can import.
| Siscomex registration (RADAR) | Who | Import limit |
|---|---|---|
| Expressa | Listed and public companies and certain other categories | No limit |
| Limitada | Companies with estimated financial capacity up to US$150,000 | US$50,000 or US$150,000 per rolling six months |
| Ilimitada | Capacity above US$150,000 | No limit |
A new company usually starts as “limitada” and applies for an upgrade once it can show financial capacity. A customs broker (despachante) is not mandatory — an accredited director or employee can clear goods — but almost every foreign-owned importer uses one. If you have no Brazilian company, you can sell to a Brazilian importer, or use a trading company that imports on your behalf (importação por conta e ordem), which has its own registration rules.
Law and practice: Receita Federal Normative Instruction 1.984/2020; Portaria Coana 72/2020.
Brazil is completing its move to the Single Import Declaration (DUIMP) on the Portal Único Siscomex, which replaces the old import declaration (DI) and the separate import licence. Sea and air imports moved in the first half of 2026; bulk sea cargo in October; road imports — the mode most used from Paraguay — are in the last waves, in December 2026. Licences, permits and certificates (LPCO) from agencies such as Anvisa, the Agriculture Ministry and Inmetro are now handled inside DUIMP.
Green channel
Released automatically; most declarations.
Yellow
Documents checked.
Red
Documents and goods inspected.
Grey
Special procedure for suspected under-valuation or fraud; can take months.
The last official clearance-time study, from 2019, found an average of 7.4 days overall but only 2.3 days for road imports, with nearly 98% of declarations in the green channel. Newer figures are not published; treat those as orders of magnitude.
Law and practice: Portal Único Siscomex, DI shutdown schedule (version of 2 October 2026); Receita Federal Time Release Study 2019.
A foreign exporter cannot be the importer of record in Brazil: someone with a Brazilian tax number (CNPJ) and RADAR must clear the goods. That rules out delivering duty-paid (DDP) in the usual sense and leaves three practical models.
Sell to a Brazilian importer
The buyer imports, pays the taxes and takes the credits. Simplest for the exporter; the price is ex-works, FCA or DAP at the border.
Trading company on your account
A licensed trading company imports for you (por conta e ordem) or buys from you to resell to a named client (por encomenda). The real buyer must be declared; hiding it is the “hidden buyer” offence.
Your own Brazilian company
A Ltda with RADAR, ICMS registration and local accounting. Worth it once volumes, margins or after-sales service justify it.
The choice also decides who keeps the tax credits. Under a trading-company model the credits follow the legal importer or the declared buyer, so the contract must say who books what. Our guide to opening a Ltda from abroad covers the third route.
Goods that qualify as Paraguayan under Mercosur rules enter Brazil with 0% import duty. Paraguay may use up to 60% non-Mercosur materials and still certify origin until 31 December 2038 (Brazil and Argentina have a 45% limit). Origin is proved with a certificate issued by Paraguay’s authorised bodies. The zero duty covers only the import duty: IPI, PIS, COFINS and ICMS still apply.
Automotive goods
Outside general Mercosur free trade; Paraguayan auto parts and maquila products enter under the Brazil–Paraguay automotive agreement (ACE 74, in force since 2020), which covers 494 lines at 100% preference.
Sugar
Still excluded from Mercosur free trade.
Maquila goods
Qualify only if they meet origin rules; most do, using the 60% allowance.
Small traders
Brazil’s unified tax regime (RTU) lets micro-businesses bring listed goods from Ciudad del Este by road at a single 25% rate within quarterly caps.
Most Brazilian buyers of Paraguayan goods are importers of record themselves; the Paraguayan exporter’s job is to deliver a clean certificate of origin and correct NCM classification. Our guide to selling into Brazil covers when a Brazilian company of your own makes sense.
Law and practice: Decrees 12.058 and 12.059/2024 (Mercosur origin regime); CMC Decision 06/23; ACE 74 (Brazil–Paraguay automotive agreement); Law 11.898/2009 (RTU).
| E-commerce parcel (Remessa Conforme) | Federal import tax | State ICMS |
|---|---|---|
| Up to US$50 | 0% since 12 May 2026 | 17% or 20% by state |
| US$50 to US$3,000 | 60% minus a US$30 deduction (the minister may cut it to 30%) | 17% or 20% by state |
| Above US$3,000 or outside the programme | Ordinary import regime | Ordinary |
Since May 2026, purchases of up to US$50 from platforms in the Remessa Conforme programme pay no federal import tax, only ICMS; the 20% rate introduced in 2024 was removed. Law 15.502/2026 lets the Finance Minister set different rates by channel and compliance and cut the 60% rate to 30%. Brazilian retailers have challenged the exemption in court. Any business model built on parcels should assume the rules will move again.
Law and practice: Provisional Measure 1.357/2026 and Law 15.502 of 10 September 2026; Confaz agreement on ICMS rates for parcels.
Drawback
Suspension or exemption of II, IPI, PIS/COFINS and AFRMM on inputs used in exports; now handled within DUIMP.
Temporary admission
Goods brought in for a period; full suspension for non-economic use, 1% a month for economic use.
Ex-tarifário
0% duty on capital and IT goods with no Brazilian equivalent.
Manaus Free Zone
Duty reductions and IPI exemption for manufacturers there, guaranteed until 2073.
Bonded warehouses
Defer taxes until goods leave for the domestic market.
Wrong NCM
Fine of 1% of customs value (minimum R$500), plus the tax difference.
Under-invoicing
Fine of 100% of the price difference; grey channel for months.
Hidden buyer
Using a front company to hide the real importer can lead to forfeiture of the goods or a 100% fine.
Unpaid tax
75% of the tax due, 150% in cases of fraud.
RADAR limits
Exceeding a limitada cap blocks new declarations until the registration is upgraded.
Law and practice: Law 9.430/1996, art. 44; Provisional Measure 2.158-35/2001, arts. 84 and 88.
NCM code, current duty and any Gecex change, anti-dumping or licence.
Your own company with RADAR, a Brazilian buyer, or a trading company on your account.
ICMS rate and incentives differ; it affects resale across states.
Non-cumulative regime and resale or industry recover most taxes; Simples companies do not.
Paraguayan or Mercosur certificate of origin for 0% duty.
Use the grossed-up ICMS, not a simple percentage.
Import duty, IPI, PIS-Importação (2.1%), COFINS-Importação (9.65%), state ICMS (usually 17–20%, grossed up), plus AFRMM on sea freight and the Siscomex fee.
For a product with 14% duty and 10% IPI, taxes at clearance are about 67% of the CIF value; most of it is creditable for registered manufacturers and resellers.
No, if they qualify as Mercosur origin and carry a certificate. IPI, PIS, COFINS and ICMS still apply. Automotive goods follow a separate bilateral agreement and sugar is excluded.
The Siscomex registration a company needs to import. The limited form allows US$50,000 or US$150,000 of imports per six months; the unlimited form has no cap.
Brazil’s single import declaration, replacing the old DI; road imports move to it in the final waves in December 2026.
Since May 2026, parcels up to US$50 through the Remessa Conforme programme pay no federal import tax, only ICMS; above US$50 the rate is 60% minus US$30.
No, but most importers use one; an accredited employee or director can also clear goods.
Mercosur origin, maquila and when you need a Brazilian company.
The other big Mercosur market, compared.
Tell us the product, its origin and who will import it. We classify it, model the landed cost and set up the importer — fixed quote within one business day.
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