Shein: learn how to pay import tax up to US$ 50 – 08/30/2023 – Market

Consumers who made international purchases below US$ 50 (about R$ 250) complain that the Federal Revenue charged the import tax and say they face difficulties to pay the fee and release the parcels held by the inspectors.

According to the reports, when making the purchase, it is not possible to know whether or not the company has adhered to the Consignment Remittance, which only charges the 17% ICMS for purchases of up to US$ 50. If the company adheres to the Federal Revenue program, the purchase of up to US$ 50 is not charged import tax.

In addition, the program has not yet issued certificates to all companies that have expressed interest in joining, a process that is in progress.

A Sheet, the Federal Revenue stated that “the qualifications of companies are made official through the publication of a declaratory act in the Official Gazette of the Union. Until now, a company is qualified”. This is Sinerlog, a courier company. The act was published on August 24.

In this way, companies that announced their adherence to Remessa, but still do not have the certificate (such as Shein and AliExpress), are not entitled to exemption from import tax, until they become official in the program.

The old rule that talks about tax exemption is still valid in cases where the company is not certified: only remittances below US$ 50 sent from one individual to another are exempt.

Imports made on non-Remessa platforms still run the risk of being taxed. The confusion may have led consumers to think that they would not pay the tax on any purchase from August 1st, Remessa’s launch date.

This was the case with housewife Rozeli Lima, 60, who says her purchase was taxed this month. “The value was around R$ 100. That same month, I made other purchases from abroad, of similar amounts. They barred only one of the purchases and applied the import tax, of 60%”, she says.

Customs inspection detained the products on August 19. The Post Office communicated the taxation to the consumer last Wednesday (23). In the letter, it was detailed that the international shipment was at a Correios treatment center, subject to inspection by the Federal Revenue Service.

Another consumer, who asked not to be identified, claims that she received the notice of taxation through the platform application on which she made the purchase, and that she would need to access the Correios website to obtain further information.

She says that the purchase cost R$ 116 and the Revenue presented a charge of R$ 69 for the products to be released. In addition, he complains that he did not know where to check which companies were or were not participating in the Conforming Remittance.

“I was quite confused, because I’ve been taxed other times, but they asked me to pay only the ICMS, never a tax like that”, he says.

“I made the purchase on the 29th of July, before the change in taxation. I understood that from August, purchases of up to US$ 50 would be exempt [do imposto federal].”

Step by step to check the progress of imports on the Correios website

Consumers report difficulty in knowing how to pay the tax, a procedure that is done through the website, and not in person, according to the Post Office.

In the case of a purchase transported by the Post Office, to release the shipment of the order, it is necessary to access the “My Imports” option, on the company’s website. See the step by step:

• Visit the website https://www.correios.com.br/
• In the “Receive” tab located at the top of the page, scroll to “Orders” and click on “International”
• On the new page, click on “My Imports”. You will need an email login and password to verify your purchases
• Another option is to use the company’s app, available for Android and iOS.

How to pay import tax

In the “My Imports” section on the Correios website, citizens will see a list of purchases made and transported by the company.

Those that were taxed will have an orange ball and a message indicating that some action must be taken for the object to be forwarded to the destination. If the indicated message is “customs inspection completed”, the package was not taxed.

If so, a button on the side will take you to the tax collection page. The consumer can choose:

1. Pay the tax by bank slip or credit card
2. Request the Federal Revenue to review the taxed amounts, through supporting documents
3. Refuse to receive the goods in order not to have to pay the tax and to return the product to the country of origin

For purchases made on platforms that have adhered to the Federal Revenue Remittance program, the tax will be collected by the platform at the time of purchase.

Further information on the logistical aspects of receiving international parcels is available on the Correios website.

How to ask for review of taxation on international purchases

If you choose to review the values, the consumer must fill out a form within the deadline for payment of the tribute, explains the lawyer specializing in consumer law Diego Marcondes.

“The decision will be taken by the body that applied the taxes, that is, the Federal Revenue, in a single administrative instance, in which the Post Office or the delivery company will communicate. send all the pertinent documents there”, says Marcondes.

In a note released in August, Correios advises consumers who want to challenge the taxation of import tax to use a new form available on its website.

The form is divided into five areas, and the state-owned company informs that the consumer must present:

• Recipient, sender and shipment data
• Information about the nature of the import and the reason for requesting a review
• Fill in the goods, freight and insurance information
• Attach documents, according to the nature of the declared import (for example, sender’s documents, purchase order from the virtual store, commercial invoice, medical prescription, proof of payment, among other items that may be requested)

Deadline for payment and contestation of taxes dropped from 30 to 20 days

The consumer now has a period of 20 calendar days to make the payment or dispute the purchase. This period was shortened after Remessa Concordado entered into force, valid for companies outside the program.

On August 1, Correios issued a note confirming that the tax payment period was reduced from 30 to 20 days. “Be aware of this deadline to prevent your order from being returned abroad.”

Consumers can ask for a refund of the amount spent on the purchase

The consumer may ask the retail platform to refund the amount spent on the taxed purchase. This request must be made after the citizen informs, on the Correios website, that he refuses to pay the tax. The goods will be returned to the country of origin.

It is important for the consumer to do this procedure on the state-owned company’s website. In this way, you can present the documents to the platform, proving that you refused to pay the tax.

If the consumer does not indicate on the Correios portal that he has refused payment, the product may be incorporated by the Union and the platform will not be obliged to refund the purchase price.

Citizen who does not pay the tax will not have a dirty name

Those who do not pay the tribute will not be left with a dirty name. “The non-payment of import tax may result in the return of the goods to the country of origin or declaration of their loss in favor of the Union. In such cases, the taxpayer’s name cannot be denied”, says David Andrade Silva, specialist lawyer in tax law.

The Union will decide what to do with the product, being able to destroy it, donate it, auction it (in this case, the buyer does not receive any value) or incorporate it into public property.

Bills want to increase exemption range to US$ 100

Bill 3498/2023, authored by federal deputy Luiz Philippe de Orleans e Bragança (PL-SP), proposes to increase the exemption limit for international purchases from US$50 to US$100. to 20% the import tax rate.

The issue is underway with Bill 1623/2023, authored by Deputy Julio Lopes (PP-RJ), and will be conclusively analyzed by the Finance and Taxation and Constitution and Justice committees.

Silva claims that the US$ 50 range is not so different from that practiced in other countries. “The big problem in Brazil is the 60% rate of import tax, which leads to fraud and evasion”, says the specialist.