CNI and CNC go to the STF against tax exemption on imported products

The National Confederation of Industry (CNI) and the National Confederation of Commerce of Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC) will appeal to the Federal Supreme Court (STF) against the exemption from Import Tax for small value goods intended for individuals in Brazil .

The appeal comes at a time when the federal government is considering taxing online purchases of less than US$50 as a way of compensating for payroll tax relief. Today, these operations are exempt from federal Import Tax, in the case of companies that have joined the Conform Remittance program. State ICMS is already charged.

A study released this week by Fiemg, a representative of the Minas Gerais industry, suggests that taxation of these purchases could guarantee up to R$19.1 billion for federal coffers.

The entities will support the Direct Action of Unconstitutionality (Adin) with the allegation of violations of the principles of equality, free competition, the internal market as a national heritage and development.

The argument is that the tax relief on imports of low-value goods in international postal shipments is not equivalent to entirely national transactions, subject to the tax burden. The result, say the entities, is that the exemption negatively impacts GDP growth, employment, wages and tax revenue.

For confederations, the laws that regulate this topic date back to the 1980s and 1990s, when electronic commerce did not have its current proportions and the impacts on the economy were smaller.

According to the entities, between 2013 and 2022, small value imports jumped from US$800 million to US$13.1 billion. The volume represented 4.4% of total goods imported in 2022.