How can shopping prices at Shopee or Shein look like – 04/14/2023 – Market

Details not yet disclosed about the collection of import taxes online could cause the cost to the consumer to double in price. This happens, in the first place, because taxes will be collected when the shipment is from an individual to an individual, regardless of the value of the product —today, there is an exemption for amounts of up to US$ 50 in transactions between individuals.

In addition, if there is also a change in the system for charging taxes on imported products, it may be that state taxes will also be collected, increasing the cost even more.

Today, the simplified import tax rate is 60%. It focuses, for example, on products purchased by an individual from a company abroad. But it is charged on top of the total purchase price, that is, the price of the product, the cost of shipping and insurance, if any, are included in the calculation. The sum of all this is what the Revenue considers as the customs value, and it is on it that the 60% is levied.

For example, if a consumer purchases an imported product through a marketplace worth BRL 226.66 and shipping costs BRL 19.43, the Revenue will charge tax on the total amount of BRL 246.06. The tax will be R$ 147.65 (60% of the R$ 246.06), bringing the total purchase price to R$ 393.71,

Orders may also suffer a second taxation, which is the ICMS (Tax on the Circulation of Goods and Services), whose rate varies from one state to another. In São Paulo, imported purchases of up to US$ 50 made by individuals are exempt from the state tax.

The government has not yet explained what the system will be applied to remittances between individuals of up to US$ 50. If the Lula 3 administration decides to end the simplified taxation regime (RTS), it is possible that, in addition to the import tax, the consumer is also affected by ICMS, assesses tax lawyer Eduardo Bonates.

“Within the RTS, which goes up to US$ 3,000, there is a second regime, which is the exemption of import tax and ICMS for goods of up to US$ 50. To know how it will be, we need to know if the government will only change the exemption rules or if you are going to change the RTS”, he says.

The maintenance or not of the special regime makes a difference because it guarantees some exemptions for these international commercial exchanges. From it comes the exemption for the importation of books and magazines and for medicines of up to US$ 10,000, in addition to remittances of up to US$ 50 between individuals.

The problem is that international trade in goods has grown to the point where it is impossible to differentiate between what is sent by people and what comes from companies and for companies.

This, without considering fraud —and it is this key that industry and retail entities have been hitting, that sellers hosted on large international marketplaces simulate business between individuals when, in fact, they are common commercial operations and, therefore, subject to the taxation.

In Bonates’ assessment, given the impossibility of differentiating the origin of these orders, the government decided to extend taxation to all, reversing the collection flow that is currently done. Today, when an order of any value is withheld for the calculation of import tax, this collection document is issued in the name of the consumer.

The Ministry of Finance has defended that the collection will be made in advance, that is, the collection would be made by the companies. A purchase made from a company in China would already leave there with the import tax (and ICMS, if any) calculated.

The consumer will pay the final price in the same way, but the charge will be made to the companies.

For Bonates, the change, as presented so far, is tax collection and not inspection, since the current rule would already allow the taxation of purchases made by companies or, when sold by individuals for more than US$ 50 (there are those who argue that the limit is US$ 100 because of a 1980 decree, but the Federal Revenue considers the lowest level).

The Lula government 3 says it expects to collect R$ 8 billion with the collection of these taxes, but does not detail how much would come from the collection at origin and how much would come from exchanges between individuals, who would lose the benefit of the exemption.

The Federal Revenue also does not disclose an estimate of when it inspects or stops inspecting, but businessmen who defend more rigor in the taxation of purchases made through marketplaces say that Brazil receives around 700 thousand imported orders every day.

Aliexpress, from the Chinese group Alibaba, has a weekly flight operated by Qatar Airways from a line that exclusively serves the Hong Kong-São Paulo route to bring purchases made by Brazilians.

The first landing at Guarulhos International Airport was a little over a year ago, on March 5 last year, bringing on board beauty and fashion products, jewelry, watches, appliances, toys and sports equipment, according to a statement released by Qatar at the time. .

Correios says that, to protect its business strategy, it does not disclose the volume of international parcels that pass through its distribution centers throughout Brazil.

The reaction on social networks and even the rush within the government to explain the measure shows how important these purchases have become.

Lawyer Maria Carolina Gontijo, who presents herself as the Duchess of Tax on her social networks, where she produces videos and texts about taxes, recalled this Friday the case of the Strawberynet website.

Almost 20 years ago, when the big cosmetics companies practically didn’t have stores in Brazil, the site became a hit, as it delivered here and promised tax refunds. In beauty and makeup blogs, the site even had a nickname, it was “strawberry”.

These purchases were never exempt, but it took some time for the IRS to realize that those low-priced orders were mostly cosmetics sold by one company.

Today, with the large volume of goods arriving every day and sold through various platforms, there are those who have never been charged for intentional purchases, especially those worth less than US$ 50.

On sites like Reclame Aqui, which record consumer complaints, there are angry reports of customers who used marketplaces for international purchases of US$ 10, US$ 15 and fell under inspection by the Federal Revenue Service.

The biggest sites, such as Shein, Shopee and Aliexpress, keep notices on their pages that international purchases may be taxed and that payment will be up to the buyer.

My order was taxed, what now?

For those who have already purchased, the first sign that there will be a tax charge comes from tracking the order on the Correios website or application,

There, you can see when the purchase went to “customs inspection”. If the product is among those benefiting from the exemption or is, for example, a gift of up to US$ 50, the tendency is for it to be released without charging the tax.

However, if this happens, on the Correios website there is the possibility for the buyer to ask for a review of the rate. In this case, he must prove the origin, the type of product (if it is a book, for example) and the value.

If it is a product actually subject to import taxation, the options are limited. He can pay or withdraw from the order.

In both situations, the outcome for the buyer will depend on the platform used for the purchase. Some, like Shein, refund half of what the customer spent on taxes.

In the case of withdrawal, the consumer needs to be aware of the policies of each site or platform, as taxation of the purchase is not always among the requirements for returning the purchase and refunding the full amount.

What the big marketplaces say

Shopee says it supports any measures by the Brazilian government to improve the economy, but considers it unfair to be included among those who would be affected by the rule change.

Felipe Piringer, responsible for marketing the platform, says that 85% of sales made through the platform are made by sellers in Brazil and that more than 90% of these are formal companies with CNPJ.

The site’s main investment, according to Piringer, is in local companies and official stores. For him, the way in which the subject has been treated leads the consumer to think that every purchase made on the platform is subject to taxation, while the possibility would be restricted to a smaller volume.

AliExpress says, in a note, that it believes in international trade and in the possibility of giving access to millions of Brazilians, from different income levels, directly to manufacturers from all over the world.

“We believe that potential regulatory updates will be made with full consideration with the aim of increasing the benefits of choice and value for Brazilian consumers,” he says.

Shein says it is committed to creating value for Brazil’s industry, consumers and economy and that simplified import rules are adopted by many countries to facilitate international trade and drive local growth.

“We recognize the importance of proposing improvements to the rules in Brazil in order to provide legal certainty for operators and ensure that millions of Brazilians can continue to have access to the world market, as well as to locally produced articles.”