Brazil Sets 1 September Vote on Blusinhas Tax Measure
Brazil · TRADE
Key Facts
- —Measure Medida Provisória 1.357/2026 was published on 12 May 2026.
- —Deadline Congress must act by 8 September or the text dies.
- —Rate today parcels up to US$50 pay no federal import duty.
- —If it lapses a 20 percent federal duty returns on 9 September.
- —Committee a chair and rapporteur were due on 1 September.
The provisional measure zeroing duty on small online imports expires on 8 September.
Brazil’s Senate president has put a date on the blusinhas tax measure at last. Davi Alcolumbre said on 26 August that the text would be deliberated on Tuesday, 1 September.
Alcolumbre names a date for the vote
Senate President Davi Alcolumbre said the blusinhas tax measure would not be allowed to lapse. He spoke after meeting President Lula and Chamber President Hugo Motta.
The meeting took place in Brasília on Wednesday afternoon. Lula, Motta and Alcolumbre also went through several other priority bills.
His words were blunt. This provisional measure will not expire, he told reporters, naming Tuesday for the committee stage.
Motta made the same commitment in his own words. He said the two houses would now install the joint committee by common agreement.
Reports from the capital put the floor votes in the concentrated sitting week starting 31 August. That schedule leaves only days before the text loses force.
The pledge matters because the file has sat untouched for months. Nothing had been voted since it reached Congress in May.
What the provisional measure actually is
A Medida Provisória, or provisional measure, is a decree with immediate force of law signed by the president. It lapses unless Congress converts it into law inside a fixed window.
This one is Medida Provisória 1.357 of 2026, published in an extra edition of the official gazette on 12 May. It amends Decree-Law 1.804 of 1980 on simplified taxation of international postal shipments.
The rule it rewrites dates from the military era. Decree-Law 1.804 has governed small international shipments since 1980.
The text lets the finance minister reset the import duty on small parcels. The ministry used that power the same day and cut the rate to zero.
Lawmakers could file amendments only between 12 and 18 May. From 26 June the file entered urgency and began blocking other business on the floor.
The expiry date is the real news
A provisional measure runs for 60 days and can be extended once for the same period. Congress published the extension for this file on 6 July.
An earlier congressional notice had pointed to 24 September as the cut-off. The record was corrected in mid-July to 8 September.
The congressional record now sets 8 September 2026 as the final day for deliberation. If the blusinhas tax measure is not converted by then, it simply dies.
Nothing further would be needed to bring the old charge back. The 20 percent rate would apply again from 9 September.
That is why the Senate president’s promise carries weight. Barely a fortnight separates his pledge from the deadline.
What shoppers pay today
Parcels worth up to US$50 sent to individuals under the Remessa Conforme scheme pay no federal import duty. That threshold is about R$ 258 (US$ 50) at current rates.
The Central Bank of Brazil set its PTAX selling reference at 5.1604 reais per dollar on 26 August 2026. Every conversion in this article uses that rate.
Buyers settle the federal charge at checkout under the scheme, not on delivery. That certainty is the main draw of registered platforms.
Shipments from US$50.01 to US$3,000 still face a 60 percent federal duty. Receita Federal, the tax authority, applies a fixed US$30 deduction to the amount due.
State tax is charged on top in every case. ICMS, the state tax on goods and transport services, runs from 17 to 20 percent by state.
The committee that never met
A joint committee of deputies and senators must report on the text first. Its installation slipped from 12 August to 13 August and then fell through.
The delay had a simple cause. Party leaders could not agree on who would chair the panel or write its report.
The Chamber of Deputies later scheduled 1 September for members to elect a chair and a rapporteur. No rapporteur had been named by 26 August.
Membership is split evenly between deputies and senators. A committee report is required before either chamber can put the text to a vote.
That leaves the committee stage, a Chamber vote and a Senate vote inside one week. The blusinhas tax measure would then need a presidential signature.
Institutional Relations Minister José Guimarães had asked Alcolumbre in writing to install the body. His request, made on 11 August, went unanswered for a fortnight.
Retail and industry push back
Not everyone wants the exemption kept. The National Confederation of Industry, known as CNI, has challenged the rule at the Supreme Federal Court.
CNI argues the zero rate favours foreign platforms over Brazilian factories. The court has not ruled on that challenge.
The National Confederation of Commerce, or CNC, has asked Congress to reject the blusinhas tax measure outright. Domestic retailers say the price gap with imported goods keeps widening.
Motta rejected the criticism in public. He called the exemption a direct victory for the people who need it most.
Revenue is the other argument. Receita Federal collected more than R$ 1.85 billion (US$ 358 million) from taxing international purchases in the first four months of 2026.
Why the calendar is so tight
Brazilians vote in the first round of the general elections on 4 October. Congress has few sitting days left between now and then.
The concentrated week starting 31 August is effectively the last chance. Leaders also want to move a working-week bill and a security amendment.
The government wants the blusinhas tax measure settled before campaigning takes over. A lapse would hand rivals a visible price rise weeks before the vote.
Expats and remote workers who buy abroad face the same cliff edge. Orders clearing customs after the deadline could be assessed at the old rate.
For shoppers on Shein, Shopee and AliExpress the question is narrow. Either the exemption becomes law by 8 September, or the charge returns the next day.
More: Brazil news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the blusinhas tax measure expire?
Congress has until 8 September 2026. The congressional record set that date after a 60-day extension published on 6 July.
What happens if Congress does not vote?
The 20 percent federal import duty on parcels up to US$50 returns automatically on 9 September. No new decree or vote is required.
Do I still pay any tax on a small parcel today?
Yes. The federal duty is zero up to US$50, but state ICMS of 17 to 20 percent still applies.
Connected Coverage
Sources
- www.congressonacional.leg.br
- www12.senado.leg.br
- www12.senado.leg.br
- www.camara.leg.br
- agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br
- www.metropoles.com
- www.metropoles.com
- www.poder360.com.br
- www.gov.br
- www.cnnbrasil.com.br
- www.migalhas.com.br
- olinda.bcb.gov.br
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
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