Import duties on shopping online from US to Brazil?
My understanding is that the import tax rate in Brazil is roughly 50% of the product value. Having recently visited São Paulo, it seemed to me that basic products at the few malls I visited were excessive even with the exchange rate. I was looking for tennis shoes as I didn't bring any and the cost was anywhere from 400 to 600 real (about $220 - $330 US). That's very high in comparison to the same shoes in the US.
I understand that a lot of Brazilians visit the US to shop and that the visa process is about to become easier. But considering the cost of travel, it would appear that shopping online through a service that offers a US address (to facilitate US purchases) and then forwards the items to Brazil would be a cheaper alternative.
What I am wondering is if the import tax rates are based on the price of the exact product being imported or based on a comparable item's cost in Brazil?
posted
Isaac
Klugmann
2 Answers
You are hardly the first person with this idea and while there are many Brazilians using mail-forwarding services in the US for eBay purchases etc.
The reason why it’s a viable option for Brazilian to go to the US for shopping is that they smuggle the purchased goods back into Brazil. If Brazilians only brought the USD 500 that they are allowed to duty-free or paid import duties on arrival back to Brazil as they are supposed to do, the US shopping trips would be much less lucrative.
What you are looking for is import by regular mail, something that we covered in the article “Importing to Brazil”:
If the goods worth less than USD 500, taxes (import tax and ICMS) are paid at the post office when you are picking up the goods. For goods that worth above USD 500 and below USD 3000, you must register the import at Siscomex to obtain a Declaração Simplificada de Importação (DSI). In addition to ICMS (VAT) you will be required to pay BRL 150 for customs clearance.
postedThe importation of personal goods by 'courier' are subject to the following duty.
Up to us$ 50.00 = 0% From us$ 50.00 up to us$ 3,000.00 = 50% of Import Duty plus local ICMS (VAT/IVA).
So, for example, if one buy a shoe in US for us$ 100.00 and dispatch by courier will pay: us$ 50.00 for Import Duty and about to us$ 32,97 of ICMS in São Paulo. In general, but not always, customs will add the Freight Rate into the calculation. Also, the courier company such as DHL or Fedex use to add us$ 30.00 as customs formalities fee.
Hope this information can help!
posted Anderson
Neves
