Brazil's tax reform on imports: what changes in the sums in 2027

What changes on 1 January 2027

The reform was approved by Constitutional Amendment 132 of 2023 and regulated by Complementary Law 214 of January 2025. It replaces five consumption taxes (PIS, Cofins, IPI, ICMS and ISS) with two: CBS, a federal contribution, and IBS, belonging to the states and municipalities. The switch is gradual, and 2027 is the year the federal part changes over in one go. On imports, the picture looks like this:

Two new rules apply to every import. CBS and IBS fall due when the goods are released at customs clearance for consumption, and payment is a condition for the goods to be handed over (arts. 67 and 76 of Complementary Law 214). And, unlike ICMS, both taxes are calculated on top of the price: they are not part of their own base, and the base also excludes IPI, ICMS and ISS.

The transition timetable, from 2026 to 2033

The reform does not end in 2027. The federal part changes over that year; the state and municipal parts take another six. It is worth keeping the whole timetable to hand, because each stage changes a different line of the cost spreadsheet.

Anyone importing to sell over several years therefore faces two changeovers: the federal one, now, and the state one, which starts to bite from 2029. The import plan for 2027 sets this date alongside the others that shape the year, such as Chinese New Year.

The sums before and after: the same order in 2026 and in 2027

To see where the tax line changes, we use the same order as in the guide to how much it costs to import from China: 1,500 pieces of home decor, US$10,000 FOB, the dollar at R$ 5.20, Import Duty at 18% and IPI at 0%. For CBS, we use the Finance Ministry's 8.8% estimate, which gives 8.7% in 2027. It is an estimate, and the sums will have to be redone once the Senate sets the rate.

The CBS base is the customs value plus Import Duty and AFRMM (R$ 58,009 + R$ 10,442 + R$ 458). In practice the Siscomex fee is also included, left out here for simplicity. In this example, what is paid at the port falls by about R$ 750. The reason is the rate: 11.75% on the customs value against 8.8% on a slightly larger base. For products with a higher Import Duty, the CBS base grows and the difference shrinks.

ICMS was left out of the table on purpose. It is still charged in 2027, at the rate of the importer's state. How the ICMS base on imports is built is a state rule, and how each state will treat CBS and IBS in that base should be confirmed with the customs broker before the first shipment of 2027.

So far, a small difference. The big change is not in what is paid at the port, but in what happens to that amount afterwards, and that depends on the company's tax regime.

The credit: where the sums really change

CBS is a value-added tax with broad input credits: what the company pays when buying is offset against what it owes when selling. Complementary Law 214 grants this credit to importers too (art. 78). The effect depends on where the company stands today.

01Presumed Profit: the biggest change

Today, a company taxed under Presumed Profit (Lucro Presumido) is in the cumulative PIS and Cofins regime: it recovers no credit at all. The R$ 6,816 of PIS/Cofins on imports in the example is a cost: it goes into the price of the goods and never comes back. On the sale, the company still pays 3.65% on revenue.

In 2027, the income tax regime no longer matters for CBS: every company outside Simples Nacional is in the regular regime. The R$ 5,995 of CBS paid at the port becomes a credit, offset against the CBS on the resale. For a Presumed Profit importer, the federal tax on the goods stops being a cost and becomes an advance payment. On the sale, on the other hand, CBS has a much higher rate than today's 3.65%, and it is calculated on top of the price, shown separately on the invoice. The final effect depends on the margin and on who buys from you, which is why this is the first calculation to ask the accountant for.

02Actual Profit: less changes

A company taxed under Actual Profit (Lucro Real) is already in the non-cumulative regime and already takes credit for PIS/Cofins on imports. For it, the change is one of rate and base, as in the table above, and of credit rules: CBS gives credit on almost everything the company buys, not just on the closed list of inputs under PIS and Cofins.

03Simples Nacional: stay or opt in

A company in Simples Nacional, the simplified regime for small businesses, already pays PIS/Cofins on imports separately, at customs clearance, outside the single monthly payment (DAS). In 2027 it pays CBS and IBS on imports in the same way. If it keeps paying everything through Simples, it gets no credit for that amount (art. 47, § 9 of Complementary Law 214), and its business customers only take credit up to what it pays through Simples.

The law allows a Simples company to pay CBS and IBS under the regular regime while staying in Simples for the other taxes (art. 41, § 3). That way it gains the import credit and passes full credit on to business customers. In return, it takes on the obligations of the regular regime. The choice runs by half-year: the window for the first half of 2027 closed on 30 September 2026, and the next one, for the second half, is in March 2027. For a Simples retailer that sells to other businesses, this is the decision of the year.

Zero IPI and the Selective Tax: the exceptions

IPI does not end for everyone

From 2027, IPI rates are reduced to zero, except for products whose manufacturing receives incentives in the Manaus Free Trade Zone. The logic is to protect Manaus's advantage: if a product is made there with incentives, the same product made in another state or imported keeps paying IPI. Motorcycles, televisions and air conditioners, largely made in Manaus today, are the natural candidates to keep the tax.

In October 2026, the official list of NCM codes that keep IPI had not yet been published. Before counting on zero IPI in 2027 prices, check the NCM code on the list when it comes out. The guide to NCM classification explains why the right code decides which rate applies.

The Selective Tax begins in 2027

The Selective Tax is levied on goods considered harmful to health or the environment. On imports, it is charged once, at customs clearance, on vehicles, boats, aircraft, tobacco products, alcoholic drinks, sugary drinks and mineral goods. It forms part of the CBS and IBS base, which compounds the bill.

The rates depend on an ordinary law, and by early October 2026 none had been published. For vehicles, Complementary Law 214 requires them to be graded by criteria such as power, energy efficiency and emissions, which makes it impossible to say today how much an imported electric car will pay. Anyone importing any of these goods should treat the Selective Tax as an open line in the 2027 spreadsheet.

Buying on platforms is no longer a shortcut

Many Brazilian retailers started reselling by buying on international platforms, one parcel at a time. The sums on those purchases changed in 2026 and change again in 2027.

Today: since 12 May 2026, Import Duty on purchases of up to US$50, made by private individuals on platforms in the Remessa Conforme programme, has been zero. The provisional measure that zeroed it became Law 15.502 of 10 September 2026. The state ICMS is still charged. Above US$50, Import Duty still applies.

From 2027: CBS applies to international parcels, whatever their value. The platform that brokers the sale is liable for collecting it, even if based abroad, and the foreign supplier must register (arts. 95 and 96 of Complementary Law 214). Only a parcel between two private individuals with no platform in between is exempt (art. 94). The Import Duty exemption does not cover CBS, which is a different tax.

For consumers, this makes small parcels close to 9% dearer. For retailers who used small parcels as a source of stock, the argument changes. Besides not scaling (the simplified regime caps each parcel at US$3,000) and not producing a proper purchase invoice for resale, the parcel now carries the same federal tax as a formal import. The difference is that, in a formal import, the CBS paid at the port comes back as a credit for a company in the regular regime. For anyone already selling in volume, the reform removes the advantage of small purchases and makes importing in quantity the natural choice. The complete import guide shows the way for anyone taking that step for the first time.

Who pays: direct import, on behalf of a third party and to order

Complementary Law 214 defines who the taxpayer is in each import mode, and that decides who keeps the credit:

• Direct import: the importer is the taxpayer, pays CBS and IBS at customs clearance and keeps the credit.
• On behalf of a third party (conta e ordem): the taxpayer is the acquirer, the company that bought the goods and pays for the operation, not the trading company that files the declaration (art. 72). The trading company is jointly liable (art. 74).
• To order (encomenda): the importing company is the taxpayer, and the company that placed the order is jointly liable.

For anyone importing through a trading company, how the credit works has to be clear in the contract before 2027: on which invoice the CBS paid at the port is shown, and how it reaches the buyer's tax return. The guide to importing on behalf of a third party explains the three modes in detail.

What is still undecided

On 18 October 2026, four pieces of the 2027 sums were still open. This guide will be updated as each one is published:

• The CBS rate. The Executive submitted its proposal in September; the TCU has until 30 October to send its calculation, and the Senate until 15 December to set the rate by resolution. If the Senate goes past 22 December, the rate calculated by the TCU applies until it votes.
• The IPI list. The NCM codes that keep the tax because they compete with the Manaus Free Trade Zone.
• The Selective Tax rates. They depend on an ordinary law, and there is debate over whether the 90-day waiting rule (noventena) will push back the start of collection.
• The ICMS base on imports. How each state will treat CBS and IBS when building the ICMS base.

What to do before January

1. Check when each shipment will be released. What decides the tax is the release date at customs clearance for consumption, not the order date. A container ordered in November and released in January already pays CBS.
2. Ask the accountant for the sums under your regime. Presumed Profit, Actual Profit or Simples, with your product and your margin. It is under Presumed Profit that the sums change most.
3. If you are in Simples and sell to businesses, decide by March whether to opt into the regular CBS and IBS regime for the second half of 2027.
4. Check the NCM code of each product against the IPI list when it comes out, and flag those subject to the Selective Tax.
5. Rework the selling price. CBS is charged on top of the price and shown on the invoice: the invoicing system and the price list must be ready for it.
6. Set cash aside. CBS is paid at customs clearance, as PIS and Cofins are today, and the credit is only used later, in the tax return.
7. If you import through a trading company, agree in writing how the CBS paid at the port reaches you as a credit.

And do not forget the rest of the calendar: Chinese New Year 2027 falls on 6 February and stops factories for weeks. The guide to China's 2027 public holidays shows what closes before and what waits until March.

Where BCVN fits in

BCVN is an import consultancy for companies and resellers, and does not do tax planning: those sums belong to the accountant. What we do is the other side of the spreadsheet. We find and vet the supplier in China, negotiate the FOB price, check the NCM code against the product's real specification, organise the pre-shipment inspection and follow the order until it is released. With the reform, the factory price and the right classification matter even more, because they are the base for everything that comes after.

This guide is for information only and does not replace advice from an accountant. Sources: Complementary Law 214/2025, Law 15.502/2026 and public information on the setting of the rates, consulted in October 2026. BCVN — Brasil China Viagens e Negócios has connected Brazilian companies with the best suppliers in China and Asia since 2008.

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