Brazil's Senate approved on Thursday (Sept. 3), in a symbolic vote, the provisional measure that ends the so-called "blusinha tax", the 20% import duty on international purchases of up to US$ 50. The Chamber of Deputies had passed the same text earlier in the day, also by symbolic vote. With the two votes, the bill's path in Congress is closed and the matter now goes to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for signature, according to G1.
The duty had been in force since August 2024, created by Lula's own government under Remessa Conforme, a Federal Revenue program that brings international e-commerce shipments under tax rules. In May, the government issued a provisional measure, a decree with the force of law that lapses unless Congress approves it, and cut the rate to zero. The exemption has applied since then, but it needed Congress to become permanent: the measure would have expired on Sept. 8, and without approval the tax would have returned. The advance came from a deal between Lula, Chamber Speaker Hugo Motta and Senate President Davi Alcolumbre. According to CNN Brasil, the agreement was sealed at a lunch last week. The issue has wide popular appeal and is central to Lula's campaign for a fourth term.
What the approved text says
On Wednesday (Sept. 2), the joint committee that reviewed the measure approved the report of rapporteur Senator Leila Barros, under the chairmanship of Deputy Reginaldo Lopes. Its main change creates a mechanism to assess the economic impact of the exemption. The first review comes three months after the measure takes effect; after that, the Finance Ministry must run assessments every six months. Congress will reassess the policy each year, based on data the ministry must deliver by April 30. The review is mandatory for textiles and clothing, footwear, accessories, toys and cosmetics, and will track jobs, income, federal revenue and the competitiveness of industry and retail.
Under the new rules, the finance minister has the power to change import duty rates on international postal shipments, including cutting the rate to zero for purchases of up to US$ 50. ICMS, a state-level sales tax, continues to apply, and waiving it is up to each state governor; ten states raised that tax on such purchases from 17% to 20% in April 2025, according to G1. CNN Brasil reported that the rapporteur also added authorization for the executive branch to set quantity or frequency limits per person, to curb the splitting of shipments. Ideas floated earlier, such as requiring deliveries through the postal service or paying consumers a cashback, were left out; lawmakers said the cashback question will be handled in the broader tax reform. In practice, by a G1 calculation with foreign trade specialist Jackson Campos, a US$ 50 order that cost about R$ 374 with the federal duty and the ICMS now comes to about R$ 312 with the state tax alone.
Business groups criticized the change. The Brazilian Textile Retail Association (Abvtex) called the end of the duty, when the measure was issued, a "grave economic setback" and "a direct attack on national industry and retail". Federal Revenue data show the import duty on international orders brought in R$ 1.78 billion in the first four months of 2026, up 25% from the same period of 2025 and a record for the period. André Galhardo, chief economist at the consultancy Análise Econômica, defended the old duty and noted that the European Union and the United States have also started to tax low-value shipments, to curb a flood of cheap Asian goods.
"From a macroeconomic point of view, the measure helped defend national jobs and was relevant for the country."
What comes next
The text now goes to Lula for sanction, the step that turns it into law. Once signed, the exemption, in force since May, becomes permanent. The Sept. 8 deadline was met. The first impact assessment is due three months after the measure takes effect.