Brazil import taxes: what an EU product pays at the border, and what comes back as credit

This guide is about goods a company imports to sell or use in its business: a distributor, a trading company or your own Brazilian subsidiary clearing a commercial shipment. If you are an individual buying a parcel from abroad, different rules apply; Receita Federal explains them on its page on postal and express shipments.

How much import tax will I pay to sell my product in Brazil?

Often between a third and more than half of the customs value, depending on the product’s NCM code and the state, before credits. For an EU food supplement entering São Paulo, the total today is 53.8 per 100 of customs value, according to Ethon’s (ethon.io) EU–Mercosur tariff analysis.

Brazil does not have one import tax. It has four, each calculated on its own base:

Sources: Decreto 6.759/2009, arts. 75 and 77; TIPI; Lei 10.865/2004, arts. 7 and 8; LC 87/1996, art. 13. Customs fees such as the Siscomex fee and AFRMM (the merchant marine levy on sea freight) also go into the ICMS base. The examples in this guide leave fees out.

The figure that matters to a Brazilian buyer is not the gross total but the part it cannot recover. For a regular-regime business buyer most of these taxes come back as credits; the import duty never does.

How is each Brazilian import tax calculated?

Each layer has its own base, and the later layers are calculated on top of the earlier ones.

1. Import duty (II). The customs value, which is the CIF value (goods, freight and insurance to the Brazilian port) under Decreto 6.759/2009, multiplied by the duty rate for the NCM code. The common rate is set in the Mercosur Tarifa Externa Comum (TEC); Brazil applies its own reductions and exceptions, published by Gecex. EU goods may pay a lower rate under the EU–Mercosur agreement.
2. IPI. The customs value plus the duty, multiplied by the IPI rate in the TIPI for that NCM code. Many goods are at 0%.
3. PIS and COFINS on imports. The customs value alone, multiplied by 2.1% and 9.65% (Lei 10.865/2004, arts. 7 and 8). Some products have higher, single-stage rates set in the same law: for perfumery and cosmetics they are 3.52% and 16.48%, and for pharmaceutical products 2.76% and 13.03%. For some NCM codes listed in the law, an additional COFINS applies in 2026.
4. ICMS. The state tax, calculated on everything above, grossed up so that the base also includes the ICMS itself. The next section shows how.

To find the duty and IPI rates for your product you need its eight-digit NCM code. Ethon’s free EU–Mercosur calculator takes a product page or an HS/NCM code and returns the duty Brazil applies today and the EU preference year by year.

How does the ICMS gross-up work?

ICMS is calculated “por dentro”: the tax is part of its own base. LC 87/1996, art. 13, sets the base on imports as the customs value plus import duty, IPI, IOF, any other taxes and contributions and customs charges, and says the ICMS amount is included in that base. The formula is:

ICMS = (customs value + II + IPI + PIS + COFINS + fees) ÷ (1 − ICMS rate) × ICMS rate

Dividing by (1 − rate) is what makes 18% cost more than 18%. Worked per 100 of customs value, for a food supplement (NCM 2106.90.30) entering São Paulo today, with an applied duty of 14.4%, IPI at 0% and the general PIS/COFINS rates:

Source: Ethon’s EU–Mercosur tariff analysis (Exhibit 6), computed with Ethon’s import-tax calculator on LC 87/1996, Lei 10.865/2004 and the TIPI. Fees (AFRMM, Siscomex, port, broker) are excluded.

Two things follow. ICMS at an 18% rate costs 27.69 here, more than a quarter of the customs value. And every point of import duty costs more than a point, because it also enters the ICMS base: with IPI at 0% in São Paulo, each point of duty adds about 1.22 points of total tax (1 ÷ 0.82).

How do import tax rates differ by state in Brazil?

Only ICMS changes by state; the federal taxes are the same everywhere. Each state sets its own internal ICMS rate, and on imports the tax is due to the state where the importing establishment receives the goods (LC 87/1996, art. 11).

What changes from one state to the next:

• The standard rate. São Paulo’s internal rate for most goods is 18% (RICMS/SP, art. 52). Other states set their own, and several add a poverty-fund surcharge on top for some goods.
• Product rates. Within one state, specific goods carry lower or higher rates than the standard one. São Paulo, for example, has reduced rates for some foods and a higher rate for some goods.
• Incentive regimes. Some states offer import-ICMS deferral or financing schemes, which is why many importers clear goods through ports in particular states.
• Resale to other states. When imported goods are resold from one state to another, the interstate ICMS rate is 4% for imported goods with less than 40% Brazilian content (Senate Resolution 13/2012).

Because the gross-up multiplies small differences, a few points of ICMS rate move the total by more than a few points. Check the rate in the importing state’s ICMS regulation for your NCM code before you set a price. Ethon’s calculator shows the total for an importer in São Paulo, the default state for most first shipments.

Which import taxes can a business buyer recover as credits?

All of them except the import duty, for a buyer in the regular (non-cumulative) regime. The duty is a sunk cost; the rest is offset against the tax the buyer charges when it resells.

The exceptions matter when you choose a distributor:

• A buyer taxed under lucro presumido is in the cumulative regime and cannot credit PIS and COFINS.
• The additional COFINS on listed NCM codes cannot be credited (Lei 10.865/2004, art. 15).
• A buyer selling to consumers, or a small business in Simples Nacional, bears more of the gross figure.

For the food supplement above, 14.4 of the 53.8 per 100 is duty: the part no business buyer gets back. That is why a duty cut is worth more than its headline rate suggests.

What is ex-tarifário, and can it lower my import duty?

Ex-tarifário is a temporary reduction of import duty for capital goods (BK) and IT and telecom goods (BIT) that have no equivalent made in Brazil. It is regulated by Resolução Gecex 512/2023.

The conditions in the resolution:

1. The product must be marked in the Tarifa Externa Comum as BK or BIT, or be a part or component of such goods (art. 2).
2. There must be no equivalent national production. National production exists if a Brazilian product that performs the essential functions of the imported one has been supplied at least once, and a Brazilian maker can quote for it (arts. 13 and 14).
3. It does not apply to integrated systems, used goods, consumer goods or auto parts, which have their own regime (art. 2, §2).
4. The reduction is granted to the product description, not to the applicant (art. 2, §1). Once granted, any importer of a matching good can use it until the ex-tarifário expires or is revoked.
5. Requests go to the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services through its SEI system and are put to public consultation, so Brazilian makers can object (arts. 3 and 5).

The reduced rate is set in the Gecex resolution that grants each ex-tarifário. If you sell machinery or equipment into Brazil, check whether an ex-tarifário already covers your product before you assume the full duty; your Brazilian buyer or customs broker can file a new request if not.

How does the EU–Mercosur agreement change Brazilian import taxes?

It lowers only the import duty on EU-origin goods. IPI, PIS, COFINS and ICMS, and from 2027 CBS and IBS, apply to EU goods as they do to any other origin.

The agreement has applied provisionally since 1 May 2026 (OJ L 2026/184). Brazil cuts its duty on EU goods product by product, mostly in equal yearly steps to zero by 2030, 2034, 2036 or 2041, and some lines are excluded. Brazil’s official rate for each NCM code is on the Siscomex Lista Brasil, and Receita’s Notícia Siscomex 078/2026 sets how the reduced rate is computed. Our guide to what the EU–Mercosur agreement changes covers the staging categories and proof of origin.

Because the other taxes are calculated on a base that includes the duty, a lower duty lowers them too. For the food supplement in São Paulo, Ethon’s analysis gives these totals per 100 of customs value:

Source: Ethon’s EU–Mercosur tariff analysis, Exhibit 6. The 2027 CBS rate and the 2033 CBS and IBS rates are estimates. Two rows are shown for the EU because it is not yet settled whether Receita cuts the preference from the agreement’s base rate or from Brazil’s lower applied rate.

What does Brazil’s tax reform change for import taxes?

From 2027 to 2033 the reform replaces PIS, COFINS, IPI and ICMS with CBS (federal) and IBS (states and municipalities). Import duty is not part of the reform and stays. The timeline is from Receita Federal, updated 16 October 2026, and LC 214/2025:

Three things change for an importer:

• CBS and IBS are charged “por fora”, on top of the price, not grossed up for themselves as ICMS is today.
• In 2033 each state and municipality sets its own IBS rate, and imports pay the rate of the destination.
• Final CBS and IBS rates are not yet fixed, so the 2027 and 2033 figures above are estimates. Plan landed costs after 2026 as a range.

Questions people ask

What are Brazil’s import duty rates?

They depend on the product’s NCM code. The common rate is set in the Mercosur Tarifa Externa Comum, and Brazil publishes its own exceptions through Gecex. Food supplements, for example, pay 14.4% today. Ethon’s free calculator returns the rate for one HS or NCM code, and the Gecex page lists the rates in force.

Does Brazil charge the same import duty to every country?

No. Goods without a preference pay Brazil’s applied rate for the NCM code, whatever their origin. EU-origin goods that meet the rules of origin pay the lower rate set under the EU–Mercosur agreement, published per NCM code in the Siscomex Lista Brasil. The other import taxes are the same for every origin.

Why is ICMS charged on top of the other taxes?

Because LC 87/1996 sets the ICMS base on imports as the customs value plus duty, IPI, PIS, COFINS and customs charges, and includes the ICMS itself in that base. An 18% rate therefore costs 27.69 per 100 of customs value in the food-supplement example, not 18.

Does the EU–Mercosur agreement remove Brazilian VAT on EU goods?

No. The agreement lowers only the import duty. IPI, PIS/COFINS and ICMS still apply to EU goods, and from 2027 CBS and IBS replace them under the tax reform. A lower duty does reduce the other taxes slightly, because they are calculated on a base that includes it.

Who pays the import taxes, the EU exporter or the Brazilian buyer?

The Brazilian importer of record pays them at clearance: your distributor, a trading company or your own subsidiary. In practice the exporter feels them in the price the buyer will accept, so model the landed cost before quoting.

Do import taxes differ between São Paulo and other states?

Only ICMS does. Each state sets its own internal rate, product rates and incentive regimes, and the tax goes to the state where the goods enter the importing establishment. Federal duty, IPI, PIS and COFINS are the same in every state.

Can I avoid import duty with an ex-tarifário?

Only for new capital goods and IT or telecom goods with no equivalent made in Brazil, under Resolução Gecex 512/2023. Consumer goods and used goods are excluded. The reduction attaches to the product description, so check whether one already exists for your machine.