The cost of importing from China to Brazil: taxes, freight and fees

Start with the customs value

Almost every import tax is calculated on the customs value: the price of the goods plus the international freight and insurance up to the port or airport where they are unloaded in Brazil, converted into reais. The NCM code, the product's classification in the Mercosur nomenclature, then decides the II and IPI rates and whether the product needs a license or certification. A wrong NCM can mean a wrong cost and, later, fines.

• Price of the goods at origin
• International freight to the port or airport of arrival
• International insurance
• Correct NCM: it sets II, IPI and any license

Federal taxes: II, IPI and PIS/Cofins-Importação

Import duty (II) applies to the customs value, at the rate set for the NCM in Mercosur's common external tariff. IPI applies to the customs value plus II, at the rate in the IPI table. PIS-Importação and Cofins-Importação have general rates of 2.1% and 9.65% on the customs value, with specific rates for some products. II, IPI, PIS and Cofins are debited when the import declaration is registered, and ICMS is paid before the goods are released. Only companies in the non-cumulative PIS/Cofins regime (usually lucro real) can take PIS/Cofins-Importação as a credit; companies in Simples Nacional or lucro presumido cannot. Check your case with your accountant.

• II: rate by NCM, on the customs value
• IPI: rate by NCM, on customs value plus II
• PIS-Importação: 2.1% general rate
• Cofins-Importação: 9.65% general rate

ICMS: the state tax included in its own base

ICMS on imports is paid at customs clearance, as a rule to the state where the importing establishment that receives the goods is located. Its base adds the value of the goods, II, IPI, the other taxes and customs charges, and the ICMS itself: in practice, the sum is divided by (1 − rate). The rate depends on the state and the product, and some states offer import incentives. Because it is charged on all the other amounts, including itself, ICMS is often the largest single tax in the bill.

Fees and costs beyond the taxes on the goods

Other items appear on every shipment and weigh more on small lots, because many of them are charged per shipment rather than per unit.

• AFRMM: 8% of the ocean freight on long-haul shipping
• Siscomex fee: R$ 115.67 per declaration, plus a decreasing amount per addition on the declaration (R$ 38.56 for each of the first two)
• Customs broker fees
• Terminal storage and handling, and deconsolidation for shared containers
• Inland freight to your warehouse
• IOF on the foreign-exchange transaction, when you pay the supplier abroad

A simplified example

Illustrative example, not tied to any real product: customs value of R$ 100,000, II at 18%, IPI at 10% and ICMS at 18%, rates chosen only to show the calculation. II is R$ 18,000. IPI is R$ 11,800 (10% of R$ 118,000). PIS is R$ 2,100 and Cofins R$ 9,650. The ICMS base is R$ 141,550 divided by 0.82, about R$ 172,622, so ICMS is about R$ 31,072. Taxes add up to about R$ 72,622 before AFRMM, the Siscomex fee and other customs costs, which also enter the ICMS base. The real result depends on the NCM, the state, the tax regime and how much becomes a credit.

What the tax reform changes

In 2026, CBS (0.9%) and IBS (0.1%) are calculated as a test: they appear on fiscal documents, and under a joint act of the Receita Federal and the IBS Management Committee, companies that meet the reporting obligations are exempt from paying them in 2026. From 2027, CBS replaces PIS and Cofins, the IPI rate drops to zero for most products (with exceptions linked to the Manaus Free Trade Zone) and the Selective Tax starts on certain goods. Between 2029 and 2032, ICMS falls step by step while IBS rises, and from 2033 the new system applies in full. The new taxes also apply to imports, so cost tables need reviewing every year of the transition.

Where the cost usually slips

The surprises rarely come from the tax rates themselves. They come from days the cargo spends at the terminal, an NCM reclassified during clearance, a license that was not requested in time or the exchange rate moving between the order and the payment. Each of these can be planned for before the goods leave China.

• Extra storage days at the terminal
• NCM changed during clearance
• License or certification not ready
• Exchange-rate changes between order and payment

How to ask for comparable quotes

Ask for the landed cost, not just the factory price or the freight. A useful quote lists each item, uses the same Incoterm for every supplier, states the NCM it assumes and includes the costs at destination. At XT Brazil, each shipment is quoted with every cost listed. In a full purchase, XT Brazil invoices the goods in Brazil, with payment in reais; if your company imports under its own RADAR, it is the importer of record.

• Same Incoterm for every quote
• NCM proposed and rates assumed
• Destination costs included
• Lead time from the factory to your warehouse