AliExpress starts sales through Remessa Conformo in October – 09/28/2023 – Market

AliExpress, the Alibaba group’s Chinese platform, announced that it will start selling products within Remessa Conformo on October 15th. In other words, from this date onwards, international shipments of up to US$50 (around R$250) will not be charged import tax.

“Reinforcing our commitment to continue seeking the best experience for Brazilian consumers, Remessa Compliance will be implemented on October 15th”, states the company’s statement on its website.

“Customers will be able to pay applicable taxes at the time of purchase and enjoy extra discounts, as well as greater predictability and security in delivery.”

In effect since August 1st, the Remessa Compliance program, run by the Federal Revenue Service and the Ministry of Finance, begins to take off almost two months later. However, only Shein already sells products within the program.

In total, five platforms were authorized by the Lula (PT) government to enter: Sinerlog, AliExpress, Shein, Shopee and Market Livre. Amazon requested membership and is awaiting approval from the IRS to join the group.

Sinerlog, the first company to enter Remessa, displays products on its website and already describes to the consumer the values ​​of each tax that will be declared. However, this is still a testing phase. “We have several products that are already cataloged on our platform. We are starting to carry out validation tests together with the Federal Revenue Service”, says Fábio Baracat, CEO of Sinerlog.

“Our expectation is that products with tax benefits via Remessa Conformo, that is, exempt from import tax up to US$50 and which pay 17% ICMS, may be available to consumers in October. We felt a large increase in visits to the website and social networks.”

Shopee, which had its entry into Remessa approved last Friday (22), is not yet operating within the program. The same goes for Market Livre, accepted on the same day.

Shein promotes changes to its payment screen

Shein began operating under Remessa on September 19, the same day it announced that it would start paying ICMS (Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services) on purchases up to US$50.

The subsidy is already in force and the consumer is subject to paying only the IOF, applied to transactions involving payment by credit card.

The company made changes to its payment screen, called the checkout screen, aiming to provide greater transparency to information related to the ICMS subsidy.

Previously, the payment screen did not inform that the amount of state tax charged was actually being deducted from the invoice. Now, the ICMS value entered appears twice on the screen, indicating that the company is paying for the tax.

The report spoke to company representatives and asked whether the old checkout screen, which only showed the ICMS price once, could confuse customers. Representatives informed that changes would be implemented to listen to consumer demands.

Even so, the ICMS value that applies to shipping appears only once. In the question mark symbol next to it, the company says that “ICMS for shipping is covered by Shein”.

WHAT IS COMPLIANT SHIPPING?

It is a federal government program that aims to make foreign trade transactions more agile, ensuring compliance with customs legislation. As a result, the expectation of the government and the Federal Revenue Service is that purchases made by Brazilians will be analyzed and released more quickly.

To be certified by the program, companies must meet the rules defined by the government. Those who do not join will not suffer restrictions in their activities. Membership is voluntary and is not limited to online retailers. Brazilian companies that import products can also apply. Certification in the program will last three years and will need to be renewed after that period.

To join Remessa, platforms will need to have a contract with the Post Office or delivery companies, maintain an admission and monitoring policy for sellers registered with the company and commit to tax compliance and the fight against smuggling.

According to the Federal Revenue, the three companies already certified represented around 67% of the volume of remittances sent to the country. The rate could rise to 78.5% with Shopee’s approval and if the Amazon order is accepted.