Commerce Confederations Challenge Tax Exemption for Imports Under $50 at Brazil’s Supreme Court

The National Industry Confederation (CNI), along with the National Confederation of Commerce of Goods, Services, and Tourism (CNC), is set to challenge at the Supreme Federal Court (STF) the import tax exemption for purchases up to $50 in Brazil.

While the interest groups have not disclosed a specific timeline for filing a Direct Action of Unconstitutionality, CNI asserted that “the import tax exemption for imports of low-value goods in international postal shipments does not equate for entirely domestic transactions (which fully bear the tax burden in Brazil).”

“Therefore, we can identify violations of the principles of equality, free competition, upholding the domestic market as a national asset, and national development,” the statement says.

Furthermore, they argue that the laws that address this issue were enacted in the 1980s and 1990s, when “the socioeconomic context was different. Back then, without the internet, e-commerce did not impact the economy and society as it does today.”

“Current economic data shows that the total exemption of import taxes results in a substantial negative impact on national indicators, such as GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth, employment, wage mass, and tax revenue,” according to the study.

According to CNI, “between 2013 and 2022, low-value imports surged from $800 million to $13.1 billion.”

Source: Valor Econômico

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