Import exemption: mining industry must go to court – 07/31/2023 – Market

Exemption from Import Tax for products worth up to US$ 50 is a crime of fiscal responsibility with the potential to destroy the Brazilian economy, from the small trader to the large industrialist, says the president of Fiemg (Federation of Industries of Minas Gerais), Flávio Roscoe .

Linked to the textile sector, Roscoe joins the chorus led by retailers against the Conforming Shipment program and says that the government will create a culture of international purchases to replace local trade.

In the assessment of the industrialist, the tax advantage for imported products will make retailers stop buying locally. “Why should I buy a product made in Brazil, with tax? I’ll buy it on this international website and I’ll put it here in my store to sell, since it will arrive here without any tax.”

The industrialist also criticizes Shein, owner of the main clothing trade site, and which announced an aggressive policy of nationalizing production. The company’s promise is to reach 85% of domestic products in four years. For Roscoe, the measure is a smokescreen.

The government published the rules for joining the import exemption program. The measure immediately affects retail, but the industry has also spoken out against it. What is Fiemg’s position on the subject?
In my years of professional activity, I’ve seen a lot happen in Brazil, but this case is really sui generis. Having a more beneficial treatment for an imported product, to the detriment of the national product, is a surreal thing, something I never thought we could witness. Unfortunately, that’s what happens in this case.

You have companies that engaged in smuggling, pretending to carry out an operation with an individual, when, in fact, they were large economic groups that simulated an imported gift coming to Brazil.

Instead of receiving billionaire fines for practicing an illegality, they benefit from tax exemption. You don’t give tax exemption to anyone who produces in Brazil, but you do give tax exemption to a website.

It destroys the local economy, it will destroy retail. That’s a snowball. Even who paid [imposto], stop paying. To protect these sites that made irregularities, they decided to grant everyone the benefit.

And there is another unconstitutionality. In Brazil, it is a crime of fiscal responsibility to give up a recipe without indicating another source of revenue, and this is not included in the decree. Basically, all those who worked formally, like Amazon, who paid tribute, will stop paying with this regulation.

And what are they going to do, increase taxes on other activities to exempt international sites that are going to sell tax-free? In other words, this is a crime against the homeland without size.

In my reading, we are destroying the Brazilian economy. It’s no joke. It seems like an innocent purchase, but it’s not. Small businesses won’t even know because they will be gradually killed.

Every day that passes, less customers enter the store. But it’s because the guy is getting a tax-free package at home. If he goes to commerce, he will have to pay the Brazilian tax, the city tax, the state tax, the Union tax.

And what is the desire to give tax benefits to imported products, I cannot understand the logic, the reasoning. I understood the present, it made sense. Now you exempt large corporations from billions of reais, what interests are these?

Does the entity consider any type of judicialization against the measure?
We are looking at who has competence, probably a clothing sector union and we would enter as amicus curiae [quando uma parte participa do processo para apresentar subsídios ao juízo].

We have already filed a complaint with the Federal Court of Auditors, to investigate the crime of fiscal responsibility of public agents, and we have filed a complaint with the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The public agents had to be fining these sites that circumvented the legislation and sold for years in Brazil as if they were individuals.

Fiemg promoted a campaign in partnership with Fecomécio de Minas Gerais to talk about the topic. Is there any articulation with other states and other entities to deal with the matter?
We are talking to several entities, such as the action against piracy with Ápice [Associação pela Indústria e Comércio Esportivo], that we will enter as amicus curie. This is another nonsense, the sites not only do not pay tax, they also sell pirated products. Not all, obviously. It’s a science fiction scenario.

This Monday (31), Shein promotes a presentation of clothes that, according to the company, are 100% national. Couldn’t the fact that production be nationalized have a positive effect on local industry and commerce?
Look, I have a little respect for other people’s intelligence. I believe that people will not fall for such a decoy. The tax exemption is only for the imported product.

we talked [esse tipo de compra] “it’s killing your job, it’s killing your future”, now they’re trying to do “no, no, we’re going to buy here.”

Then he buys R$ 50,000 from a company and says that company is a supplier to the site. Enter the clothing sites to see what is national and what is imported.

That’s not the worst. Sites that paid tax had a much higher percentage of national product. What will happen is the replacement of the national product by the imported one. One will pay tax and the other will not. Which do you think will sell more?

What there is is an attempt to deceive the consumer. And unfortunately this has been supported by some members of the government who don’t want to say ‘this is bad for Brazil’.

They remain in this smokescreen, saying they are going to buy here, they are going to produce here. Great, so why not cancel 100% of imports and buy 100% domestic products, if the objective is to generate jobs here?

The fight on the site was to sell imported products with tax exemption, obviously taking the place of the national product. Makes me laugh, that’s a bad joke.

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RAIO-X – Flávio Roscoe, 50

He is president of Fiemg (Federation of Industries of Minas Gerais) in a second term that will end in 2025. A Minas Gerais businessman in the textile sector, Flávio Roscoe is managing partner of the Colortêxtil group, from Belo Horizonte