Justice grants exemption for imports of up to 100 dollars. Understand

A recent decision handed down by the Brazilian Court granted import exemption for purchases made up to US$ 100. The Regional Class for the Standardization of Special Courts of the 4th Region defined the sentence. The decision is the result of a lawsuit filed by a lawyer from Curitiba in 2020 against the National Treasury. At the time, the lawyer filed a lawsuit after being taxed on three different purchases, all worth less than $100.

According to the person responsible for the action, after the purchases were made, the National Treasury decided to charge R$498,76 as import tax. In the process, the lawyer orders the National Treasury to reimburse him for the total amount illegally charged. The lawyer's allegation is present in item II of the second paragraph of Decree-Law No. 1804/80. According to the text of the law, one of the duties of the Ministry of Finance is to provide for the exemption of imports of goods in shipments with a value of “up to one hundred US dollars”. Find out more below.

How the exemption will work

The Union appealed the court's decision on the grounds that the purchases made by the lawyer had been delivered by private companies, making it impossible to exercise the right to import exemption.

However, the Appeals Panel of Paraná denied the Union's appeal, saying that there would be no legal provision that differentiated between orders delivered by private companies, such as SHEIN and AliExpress, and by the Post Office, since both are characterized as postal shipments.

In this way, the import exemption of up to one hundred dollars will work for any type of postal shipment, whether delivered by the Post Office or any other company responsible for this type of service.

Validity for individuals and legal entities

Currently, the import exemption is set at international purchases worth up to US$ 50. In an act confirming the decision of the Curitiba Court, the judge and rapporteur of the case, Andrei Pitten Velloso, highlighted the validity of the import exemption for all types of shipments, as long as they are within the stipulated value of $100.

Still according to the judge's understanding, there is no reason for the limitation to be imposed, even with what is established by the Ordinance of the Ministry of Finance. Going further, the judge implied that the exemption should be valid not only when the parties involved were natural persons, opening the range of exemption from import taxes also for legal entities.

Conclusion

The decision handed down by the Regional Class of Uniformization of Special Courts of the 4th Region of Curitiba sets a precedent for any Brazilian citizen who has carried out international online shopping with values ​​up to US$100.

This is because, from the case initiated by the lawyer in question, any person, whether natural or legal, can appeal if they have been taxed for purchases within the stipulated amount. Therefore, it is worth appealing the decision whenever it is unfavorable, since whenever there is any type of similar matter, the case must be judged in accordance with the understanding formed by the TRU.

The favorable opinion is a victory for Brazilian consumers of any legal nature who wish to make international purchases. Shipments delivered by companies other than Correios are also covered by the import exemption.

Thus, the decision by the Curitiba TRU can be considered a milestone in the Brazilian economy, as it becomes responsible for boosting international sales of products that become accessible to all Brazilians, opening up the range of international online shopping options.

Sources: InfoMoney, Migalhas, Adrenaline, E-commerce Brazil

reviewed by Glaucon Vital in 29 / 3 / 24.