Brazil's National Congress approved on Thursday (Sept 3) the provisional measure that eliminates the so-called "blusinha tax", the 20% import duty on international purchases of up to US$ 50. The Senate passed the bill in a symbolic vote, hours after the Chamber of Deputies did the same. According to the Senate's official news service, the approval came at 8:51 p.m. in Brasília. The text now goes to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for his signature.
A provisional measure is a presidential decree with the force of law that Congress must ratify by a set deadline. This one was issued in May and has already zeroed the rate. Without congressional approval by September 8, it would have expired and the tax would return. According to G1, the vote was unlocked by an agreement between Lula, Chamber Speaker Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB) and Senate President Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP). The issue has strong popular appeal and is central for Lula, who is seeking reelection to a fourth term, G1 reports.
What it means for shoppers
The tax applies to purchases on international platforms such as Shein, Shopee and AliExpress. By G1's calculation, a US$ 50 purchase came to US$ 72.29 (374.53 reais) with the 20% import duty and the 17% ICMS, a state sales tax charged "inside" the price. Without the federal tax, the total falls to US$ 60.24, about 312 reais. The ICMS remains in place; ten states raised their rate on such purchases from 17% to 20% in April 2025.
Congress amended the text before the final vote. On Wednesday, the joint committee, with Senator Leila Barros (PDT-DF) as rapporteur and Deputy Reginaldo Lopes (PT-MG) in the chair, added a mechanism to assess the economic impact of the exemption on textiles and apparel, footwear, accessories, toys and cosmetics. A first assessment comes after three months, then every six months. Congress will review the end of the tax each year, using Finance Ministry data due by April 30. The measure also gives the finance minister power to change import duty rates on international parcels, including cutting them to zero.
Industry criticism
The Brazilian Textile Retail Association (Abvtex) called the end of the charge, when the measure was issued in May, a "grave economic setback" and a "direct attack on national industry and retail". André Galhardo, chief economist at the Análise Econômica consultancy, says the tax worked as protection for Brazilian industry, especially in fashion.
"From a macroeconomic point of view, the measure helped defend national jobs and was relevant for the country," Galhardo said. "Not by chance, European Union countries and the United States itself have also started taxing small-value parcels recently," he added.
The Federal Revenue Service says the government collected 1.78 billion reais in import duty on international parcels in the first four months of 2026, up 25% from the same period of 2025 and a record for the period. The tax was created in August 2024 under the Remessa Conforme program, after Congress approved it and Lula himself signed it into law. The next step is the presidential sanction: once signed, the exemption in force since May becomes permanent.