The government delivers bad news to those who shop online abroad

The federal tax credit for online purchases abroad of up to R$50, which was gazetted last week, in fact marks the beginning of the promise of e-commerce regulation, according to the minister. farmFernando Haddad.

Credits: Agência Brasil/Arquivo

The government delivers bad news to those who shop online abroad

The minister said a second phase was underway to create a final federal tax form for online purchases abroad. These measures seek to ensure transparency and security for consumers, and to enhance confidence in the online marketplace. According to the government, the promise is to make e-commerce a more reliable and fair shopping experience for all.

According to the minister, the second phase of what he called the “compliance plan” will seek to maintain a balance between local producers and online stores that sell imported products. Haddad stressed that the priority will be to prevent unfair competition practices.

“In fact, this is the beginning of the compliance plan because the whole problem it generates is the imbalance between domestic and market trade. [compras de produtos importados pela internet]. The defect is very large. We started this compliance plan to adapt, Haddad said, so that the competition would remain loyal.

Despite questions from reporters, the minister did not say whether in the future, there will be a federal tax on goods worth up to $50, which is now exempt. He just said the federal government will talk to foreign e-commerce retailers into signing an agreement that “promotes a more balanced competition,” especially with Brazilian retailers, which employ 25% of the country’s formal contract workers.

“I have a meeting scheduled with retail tomorrow [neste sábado] in Sao Paulo to see what the next steps they envision would be. And they want to sit at the table with their international partners to reach an understanding,” Haddad stated. The minister stated that he intends to talk to representatives of electronic stores and later promote a “negotiation table” between the parties.

Government measures online shopping on external websites

This Friday, the Ministry of Finance published a decree with new rules for international purchases made over the Internet. Starting August 1, money transfers from overseas businesses to individuals will be exempt from federal taxes up to an amount of $50.

In return, companies must comply with the federal revenue compliance program, which is regulated by standard instructions also published Friday. An e-commerce page entering the revenue program, called Matching Conversions, will have access to a pre-authorization that allows merchandise to enter the country more quickly.

If businesses do not join the program, a 60% import tax rate will be charged, as it already does with purchases over $50. The exemption for purchases of up to $50 will only apply to federal taxes. All orders from businesses to individuals who commit to remitting the shipment will pay a 17% Commerce in Goods and Services (ICMS) tax, which is a tax imposed by the states.

For Haddad, the ICMS group, organized last week by the National Council for Treasury Policy (Confaz), a body that includes state treasury ministers, is helping to sort out states’ finances. “For states, it is important to address this problem quickly, because it is losing revenue. National retailers are selling even less than that without being able to collect from those who sold through the marketplaces. It is now beginning to balance,” he commented.

old tax form

Prior to today’s law, online purchases and money transfers from businesses to individuals abroad were not exempt, being subject to a 60% import tax rate. For orders between US$500 and US$3,000, there was also an ICMS fee. However, small value merchandise is rarely charged because it relies on inspection through Federal Revenue of Post Office applications.

In the old model, the import tax was not charged in two cases. The first is the exemption provided by law for books, magazines (and other periodicals), and medicines. In the case of pharmaceuticals, individual purchases of up to $10,000 are exempt, with the product only being released if it meets the criteria of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa). These exceptions have been preserved in the new rules because they are defined by law and cannot be regulated by decree.

However, the law expanded the exemption to requests of up to $50. The advantage has not been granted, until now, unless the shipment takes place between two people, without commercial purposes. However, this exemption has caused problems because many sites take advantage of the loophole to impersonate individuals and avoid paying taxes.

With information from Agência Brasil.