Own account, on behalf or by order: choosing how to import into Brazil

Why the choice matters

The way you import decides who appears as importer on the declaration, who pays the taxes, which invoices are issued and who answers to the Receita Federal. It must also match reality, above all whose money paid the supplier. Hiding the real buyer behind another company can be treated as fraudulent interposition, with penalties that go as far as the loss of the goods.

Importing on your own account

Your company buys from the supplier, pays the foreign exchange, registers the import declaration in its own name through a customs broker, pays the taxes and then sells with its own Nota Fiscal. It needs to be registered to operate in Siscomex, known as RADAR. In the limited modality, the customs value it may import over each six-month period is capped at US$ 50,000 or US$ 150,000, depending on its estimated financial capacity; above that, the modality is unlimited. The express modality (expressa) exists for specific types of company, such as listed corporations.

• Your company is the importer
• Requires RADAR
• You pay the supplier and the taxes
• Limited RADAR: caps over each six months

How the RADAR is requested

The application is made online in the Portal Único Siscomex by the person legally responsible for the company in the CNPJ register. For the limited and unlimited modalities, the system analyses the data the Receita Federal already holds about the company and issues an opinion: the registration may be granted straight away or the Receita may ask for documents. Some companies are selected for a closer review at a Receita office. It is worth starting early, because the first shipment depends on it.

On behalf of a third party (conta e ordem)

You, the buyer, negotiate and pay the supplier. A company with RADAR is hired to clear the goods in its own name, but on your behalf and with your funds. The Receita Federal rules require that you are also registered in Siscomex, that you are linked to the importer in the Portal Único before the declaration is registered, and that a contract between you is attached to the declaration. The importer issues an entry invoice, an invoice transferring the goods to you and an invoice for its service.

• You buy and pay the supplier
• The importer provides a service
• Your company must be registered and linked
• Contract attached to the declaration

By order (encomenda)

The importer buys abroad with its own funds and resells the goods to you, a buyer defined in advance. The same registration and linking requirements apply. The importer issues the entry invoice and a sales invoice to you, and you pay the importer in Brazil. You may pay the importer in advance and it still counts as the importer's own funds, but only the importer pays the foreign supplier. By law, buyers in this model and in conta e ordem are treated as industrial establishments for IPI purposes when they resell the goods, which changes how IPI is handled on your sales; from 2027, under the tax reform, the IPI rate falls to zero for most products.

• The importer buys with its own funds
• You buy from the importer in Brazil
• Your company must be registered and linked
• IPI treatment changes on resale

Quick comparison

The three ways differ mainly in who buys abroad and whose money pays the supplier.

• Who buys abroad: you (own account, conta e ordem) or the importer (encomenda)
• Whose money pays the supplier: yours (own account, conta e ordem) or the importer's (encomenda)
• Your company's Siscomex registration: required in all three
• Contract with the importer: required in conta e ordem and encomenda

And if your company has no RADAR?

The first option is to apply for one; the limited modality is the usual starting point. Meanwhile, you can buy from a Brazilian importer that imports in its own name and resells to you with a Nota Fiscal, which is an ordinary domestic purchase. Without a RADAR, your company cannot use XT Brazil's RADAR in conta e ordem or by order, because both require your own registration and link. What XT Brazil can do is import in its own name, buying from and paying the supplier with its own funds, and resell the goods to your company with a Nota Fiscal. In that route your company must not pay the foreign supplier: when the real buyer's money pays for the goods, the operation can be treated as fraudulent interposition. Before shipping, we agree with you in writing how the operation is structured.

Check the tax effects before deciding

Each way of importing changes where ICMS is due, which credits your company may take and how IPI works on resale. Ask your accountant to compare the options with your tax regime before the first shipment, and keep the contract, the invoices and the payment records consistent with the option you chose.