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Brazil's tax reform replaces the PIS/Pasep and Cofins import contributions with CBS, and the state ICMS with IBS, keeping the customs value plus import duty and other charges as the calculation base. Through 2026 the rates are symbolic and creditable. Source: Complementary Law 214 of 16 January 2025.
Anyone importing into Brazil right now is running two tax accounts at once: the old one, still live, and the new one, already printed on the fiscal document. Knowing which of the two actually leaves the bank account in a given year is the difference between a reliable landed cost and a surprise at year end.
CBS takes the place of the PIS/Pasep contribution and Cofins, including the versions that hit imports. IBS takes the place of the state ICMS and the municipal ISS. On top of that comes the Imposto Seletivo, a selective tax charged from 2027 on goods and services considered harmful to health or the environment. Legal basis: Complementary Law 214/2025, article 1, and Constitutional Amendment 132/2023, article 126 of the transitional provisions.
Import duty stays exactly where it is. It remains the trade policy instrument, calculated on customs value and driven by the tariff classification of the goods. Teams already familiar with Brazilian import duty do not need to relearn that part.
One change slips past most planners. From 2027 the rates of IPI, the federal excise tax, drop to zero, except for products with incentivised industrialisation in the Manaus Free Trade Zone, under article 126, item III, of the transitional provisions.
The taxable event is the entry of foreign goods into Brazilian territory, and the calculation is deemed to occur when goods cleared for consumption are released. That is written into articles 65 and 67 of Complementary Law 214/2025.
The base is the customs value plus a closed list: import duty, the selective tax, the Siscomex system fee, the AFRMM merchant marine surcharge, the fuel Cide contribution, anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties, safeguard measures and any other charge levied up to release. IPI, ICMS and ISS are excluded from that base (article 69, paragraph 2).
Hold on to this one, because it rewrites spreadsheets: the IBS and CBS rate on an import equals the rate charged on buying the same good inside Brazil, under article 71. The design goal is to erase the tax advantage of sourcing abroad. Rerun your landed cost with that equivalence in hand.
Little money and a lot of filing. For taxable events between 1 January and 31 December 2026, IBS is charged at a state rate of 0.1% and CBS at 0.9%. Articles 343 and 346 of Complementary Law 214/2025 set those figures.
What is collected in that year is offset against PIS/Pasep and Cofins due in the same assessment period. Without enough debits, the amount can be offset against another federal tax or refunded within sixty days on request (article 348, items I and II).
Then comes the escape valve that defines the year: collection of IBS and CBS on 2026 events is waived for taxpayers that correctly meet the ancillary obligations set out in the legislation (article 348, paragraph 1). The waiver does not touch PIS/Pasep and Cofins, which remain payable in full (paragraph 2). The 2026 rates also do not apply to companies under Simples Nacional, the simplified regime for small business.
The transition is long and moves at different speeds for the federal tax and the shared one. The table gathers what each year charges and what leaves the stage.
Period | CBS | IBS | What happens to the old taxes |
2026 | 0.9%, creditable | 0.1% state, creditable | Nothing moves: PIS, Cofins, ICMS and ISS stay full |
2027 and 2028 | Reference rate less 0.1 point | 0.05% state and 0.05% municipal | PIS/Pasep and Cofins revoked; IPI to zero, Manaus aside |
2029 to 2032 | Full rate | Rises in steps | ICMS and ISS fall to 9/10, 8/10, 7/10 and 6/10 |
From 2033 | Full rate | Full rate | ICMS and ISS extinguished |
Legal basis: Complementary Law 214/2025, articles 344, 347, 501, 508 and 543, and Constitutional Amendment 132/2023, articles 126 to 128 of the transitional provisions.
The real shock lands in 2027. CBS starts charging in earnest at the very moment PIS and Cofins disappear, with no overlap period between the two baskets. Price contracts accordingly.
The taxpayer is the importer, defined as whoever brings the goods into Brazilian territory. In an import by order and account of a third party, that role falls on the party that acquired the goods abroad. Legal basis: Complementary Law 214/2025, article 72.
Payment is a condition for release of the goods (article 76, paragraph 4), and can be brought forward to the moment the import declaration is filed, if the importer prefers (paragraph 1). Complementary Law 227 of 13 January 2026 opened two exceptions for later payment: companies certified under the Brazilian Authorised Economic Operator programme, and goods in international shipments handled under the simplified taxation regime.
Companies in the regular regime take a full credit for the IBS and CBS actually paid on the import (article 78). That is a sharp break from today's ICMS, riddled with state-level credit restrictions. For parcel-sized purchases, the route remains courier imports under the RTS.
A fair amount, and it deserves to be said plainly. Reference rates for IBS and CBS from 2027 onwards will be set by a Federal Senate resolution, based on calculations sent by the Federal Court of Accounts by 15 September and fixed by 31 October of the year before they take effect. That machinery sits in article 349, paragraph 1, of Complementary Law 214/2025.
The base regulations already exist: Decree 12,955 of 29 April 2026 regulates CBS, and CGIBS Resolution 6 of 30 April 2026 regulates IBS. Even so, the law itself defers to regulation the requirements for special customs regimes, including the suspension applied to drawback in Brazil, and the operational cases of deferred payment.
Anyone budgeting imports into Brazil for 2027 has to work with a range, not a fixed number, while the Senate resolution is pending. That is the honest answer on 23 September 2026.
The law does not set an increase: it swaps the basket of taxes and aligns the import rate with the domestic rate for the same good, under article 71 of Complementary Law 214/2025. The net effect for each importer depends on the reference rate the Senate fixes and on the credits the company can use.
Collection on 2026 taxable events is waived for taxpayers that meet the ancillary obligations set out in the legislation, under article 348, paragraph 1, of Complementary Law 214/2025. The waiver covers payment, not bookkeeping and filing.
Customs value plus import duty, selective tax, Siscomex fee, AFRMM, fuel Cide, anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties, safeguard measures and any other charge up to release. IPI, ICMS and ISS are not part of that base (article 69).
IBS and CBS apply to imports made by individuals, companies or entities without legal personality, even if not registered in the regular regime, whatever the purpose, under article 63 of Complementary Law 214/2025. The right to a credit, however, belongs to those in the regular regime.
ICMS and ISS rates fall in steps from 2029 to 2032 and both taxes are extinguished from 1 January 2033, through the revocation of Complementary Law 87/1996 and Complementary Law 116/2003 ordered by article 543 of Complementary Law 214/2025.
2026 is an expensive rehearsal: small rate, heavy filing and no margin for a wrong product record. Companies that use these months to fix tariff codes, customs values and fiscal document data will reach 2027 with less rework and fewer discrepancies at release.
It is worth looking at the logistics end too, since payment conditions release and every idle day costs money. If you want an international operation with customs handled from pickup to delivery and visibility at each stage, open a DHL Express business account.
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