Importing from China to Brazil

Because ICMS is a state tax and its assessment base already includes the federal import taxes. That means the total burden depends on the state where the goods are nationalised, not only on the product: the same goods cleared in two different states carry a different tax cost. On top of that, the NCM classification determines the federal rates. That is why in Brazil we always give the breakdown line by line and never a single figure.

A Brazilian company importing from China needs a CNPJ, RADAR habilitation in Siscomex from the Receita Federal, a licensed despachante aduaneiro and the NCM classification of the product. Without RADAR habilitation the company cannot register imports in its own name. Clearance is always carried out by a licensed despachante, never by the carrier or the buying agent.

RADAR is the Registro e Rastreamento da Atuação dos Intervenientes Aduaneiros, the habilitation that the Receita Federal grants a Brazilian company to operate in Siscomex. Without it, imports cannot be registered. There are categories with different limits depending on the profile and the volume of the company, and the process is settled before the first operation, not during it.

An electronic product needs two certifications in Brazil, and they are independent of each other. ANATEL regulates radio frequency, and its homologation is mandatory for any product that emits radio: WiFi, Bluetooth or cellular. Inmetro regulates electrical safety and performance, and its certification is mandatory for a large part of electrical goods and household appliances. The same product can need both, and confusing the two bodies delays the process.

The Programa Remessa Conforme is the Brazilian regime for cross-border e-commerce purchases, designed for small shipments addressed to end consumers by certified companies. It is not the route for commercial import at volume: if you buy to resell, the operation is channelled through an import in your own name or through a courier consignment, with an import declaration and customs clearance. Using the simplified regime for resale is the same mistake as making it with the Argentine puerta a puerta.

Sea transit from Shenzhen to Santos or Paranaguá is normally 30–45 days, and air transit is 8–15 days to Guarulhos or Viracopos, in both cases with customs clearance included. Add to that the consolidation time at our warehouse. In practice, a door-to-door sea shipment usually runs 45–65 days from the moment it leaves the factory.

Consolidating purchases from several Chinese suppliers into a single shipment to Brazil is possible, and in Brazil it has an added effect. Besides paying one freight instead of several, you reduce the number of import declarations, each of which has a fixed cost and consumes the despachante's time. All the sellers ship to our Shenzhen warehouse and a single cargo leaves from there with a single set of documents.

Customs clearance in Brazil is always carried out by a licensed despachante aduaneiro, which is a regulated profession with a periodic qualification exam. MeliPrep buys, receives, checks, consolidates and coordinates transport and the export documentation. The import and its tax treatment are handled by your despachante together with your accountant.