IT Strategy

New tax rule tightens the net on reselling imported goods

A purchase on a certified platform under R$50 already pays 20% import duty in Brazil. Above that, the rate jumps to 60%. Resellers who don't factor this in sell at a loss without realizing it.

February 23, 2026|5 min read

What's already in effect

For purchases made on platforms participating in Brazil's Remessa Conforme program, the import duty is 20% for orders up to US$50. Above that value, the rate jumps to 60%, with a fixed deduction. Adding other taxes on top, the final effective burden on a certified site can reach around 44% for items under US$50, and exceed 90% for items above that.

Anyone buying imported products to resell — a common practice in online thrift stores, niche shops, and social-media reselling — needs to factor this cost in before setting a sale price.

Why this math often goes wrong

It's common to see resale prices calculated based only on the amount paid on the foreign site plus shipping, without including the import duty already charged (or still to be charged at customs, if the purchase didn't go through a certified platform). The result is a profit margin that looks good on paper but disappears — or turns into a loss — once the real import cost enters the equation.

What to check before setting a price

Three things help fix the math: for each resold imported product, separate the merchandise value, shipping, and import duty — don't lump everything into an "approximate cost." Then confirm whether the purchase went through a Remessa Conforme participating platform (more predictable rate) or outside it (risk of customs holds and less predictable cost). And recalculate each product's margin using the real total cost, not just the purchase price on the site.

Where Diglion comes in

Diglion helps small businesses that resell imported products build a cost spreadsheet that correctly includes import duty, avoiding selling at a loss without realizing it.