ICMS on imports, state by state

This page covers the states most European, Asian and North American exporters use as an entry point, with the legal basis for each figure. ICMS on import is charged at the internal rate of the destination state that would apply to the same domestic good (Constituição Federal art. 155 §2 IX "a"; Lei Kandir art. 2 I).

The short answer

São Paulo charges 18% as its standard internal rate and 25% on the category the state calls supérfluos. Rio de Janeiro charges 16% plus a 2% state fund contribution (FECP), 18% in effect, on the general import rate, and 37% plus 2% FECP, 39% in effect, on the same supérfluos category. 22% is Rio's internal sales rate between businesses in the state, not its import rate, and the two get mixed up often.

Wine, spirits, perfumery and cosmetics fall in the supérfluos band in most of these states. Most industrial goods and ordinary foodstuffs do not, and a handful of cosmetics codes are carved out of the supérfluos band by name.

Both sets of figures for a given state are correct and they describe different things. A source quoting 18% for São Paulo is quoting the standard rate. A source quoting 25% is quoting the supérfluos rate for a specific list of goods.

Rates and legal basis

State	Standard import rate	Cosmetics / supérfluos	Legal basis
São Paulo	18%	25% (art. 55 IV), except shampoo and deodorant at 18%	RICMS/SP, Decreto 45.490/2000, art. 52 for the standard rate, art. 55 for supérfluos and its exceptions, art. 55-A for tobacco 30% (Decreto 61.838/2016)
Rio de Janeiro	16% + 2% FECP = 18%	37% + 2% FECP = 39%, except lip products 3304.10.00 and shampoo 3305.10.00 at 18%	Lei 2.657/1996 art. 14 IV for the general import rate, art. 14 VII for supérfluos, LC RJ 210/2023 for FECP, Decreto RJ 47.032/2020 (effective 01.05.2020) for the carve-out
Paraná	19.5%	25% (art. 17 III "f"), except shampoo 3305.10 and deodorant 3307.20 at 19.5%	RICMS/PR art. 17 V, Lei 21.850/2023, from 18.03.2024
Goiás	19%	21% (19% + 2% PROTEGE, Anexo VII, ch. 3303-3307)	CTE art. 27 I and §5, Lei 22.460/2023, from 01.04.2024
Bahia	20.5%	Perfumes and colognes 25% + 2% FECP = 27%; other cosmetics 20.5% + 2% = 22.5%	Lei 7.014 art. 15 I, Lei 14.629/2023, from 07.02.2024
Espírito Santo	17%	25% "inclusive de importação" (art. 20 IV "g"), except shampoo 3305.10.00, shaving products 3307.10.00 and deodorants 3307.20.10/.90 at 17%; conditioner 3305.90.00 stays at 25%	Lei 7.000/2001 art. 20 IV "g"; Parecer Consultivo 199/2024 for the shampoo, shaving and deodorant exceptions; Parecer Consultivo 542/2024 confirms shampoo at 17% and sets conditioner at 25%, revoking Parecer 309/2024

Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul add a temporary surcharge to final-consumer sales only (not the import rate itself): Minas Gerais +2% FEM until 31.12.2026, shampoos and sunscreens excluded (Lei 24.471/2023); Rio Grande do Sul +2% AMPARA on cosmetics, with no extension found past 31.12.2025 in the state's own FAQ.

What counts as supérfluos

In São Paulo the list in article 55 covers alcoholic drinks under NCM headings 2204, 2205 and 2208, perfumery and cosmetics, weapons, boats and furs. Each state listed above applies its own list, and several carve specific NCM codes back out to the general rate even inside a cosmetics chapter.

The practical consequence is a large one for consumer brands. A cosmetics importer clearing an unlisted NCM in Rio de Janeiro pays 39% ICMS where an importer of the carved-out lip product or shampoo codes pays 18%, the same rate an industrial equipment importer pays in that state.

Check your NCM code against the state's own list and its exceptions before modelling anything. The categories are legal lists, not intuitive descriptions, and a product that looks like it belongs in supérfluos can be carved back out by code.

RioComex, a reduced regime for imports cleared in Rio de Janeiro

Lei RJ 11.192/2026 (regime from 01.06.2026 to 31.12.2032) lets qualifying imports clear in Rio de Janeiro at an ICMS burden of 4% instead of the standard or supérfluos rate, for goods with a domestic similar under Resolução do Senado 13/2012. It does not apply to Simples Nacional companies or to imports for own consumption.

Entry conditions: RADAR Ilimitada, one of six statutory criteria, customs clearance in Rio de Janeiro, a minimum ICMS based on the 12-month average, and tax regularity.

Chapter 33 (cosmetics) is not on the exclusion list, so cosmetics can qualify. Excluded goods (Anexo Único) include coffee, wheat flour, cocoa 1801-1806, ethanol, stone, cement, ore, coal, oil and fuels, chapter 28-29 chemicals, wood, and iron and steel under chapter 72, plus 7308.90.10 and 8202.99.10. Fasteners (7318), bearings, pumps, compressors, confectionery (1704) and biscuits (1905) are inside the regime; chocolate (1806) is excluded.

Orientational example: face cream 3304.99.10 cleared into Rio de Janeiro under RioComex at 4% works out to a total tax burden (II, IPI, PIS/COFINS and ICMS combined, excluding freight and other charges) of about 1.59 times CIF value, against about 2.51 times CIF at the 39% supérfluos rate without the regime. Applicability to a specific code should be confirmed before signing a contract.

How ICMS is calculated on an import

ICMS is charged "por dentro", meaning it forms part of its own base:

ICMS base = (customs value + II + IPI + PIS + COFINS + customs expenses) / (1 - ICMS rate) ICMS = ICMS base * ICMS rate

The division is what makes the effective burden higher than the nominal rate. At 18% the base rises by about 22% before the rate is applied. At 25% it rises by a third. At 39% it rises by nearly two thirds.

That last figure is worth stating plainly: on goods in the Rio supérfluos band, the gross up alone adds more to the base than the entire import duty does on most products.

Choosing a state changes the bill, not the tariff saving

Importers put real effort into choosing a port of entry around ICMS, and the effort is justified: the difference between 18% and 39% on the same shipment is substantial.

What the choice does not change is the share of a duty reduction that reaches your landed cost. If you work through the algebra of a landed cost calculation, the ICMS rate appears in both the numerator and the denominator of the percentage saving and cancels out completely.

So the two questions are separate. Which state you clear through decides how much tax you pay. It has no bearing on how much of a tariff cut you keep.

Substitution tax, which is not in any of these numbers

For goods that move on into retail, states frequently apply ICMS substituição tributária. Tax on the whole downstream chain is collected at one point, calculated on an assumed retail margin set by the state.

None of the figures on this page include it. For finished consumer goods it can be the difference between a workable margin and an unworkable one, and it varies by state and by product category. Treat any landed cost model for a retail product as incomplete until substitution tax has been checked for the specific state and code.

What this page does not cover

Six states were verified, on 24 September 2026, against the acts listed above: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná, Goiás, Bahia and Espírito Santo, plus the Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul surcharges. The remaining jurisdictions were not checked, and we are not going to publish a 27 row table built from secondary sources.

Ranges circulating in trade advisory content, typically "17% to 20%" or "17% to 22%", do not capture the supérfluos bands at either end, and the 22% figure in the second range is Rio de Janeiro's internal sales rate, not an import rate at all.

If you need a state we have not verified, ask and we will check the act rather than quote a range.

Sources

• São Paulo: RICMS/SP, Decreto 45.490/2000, article 52 for the standard internal rate, article 55 for the supérfluos rate and its list of goods and exceptions, article 55-A for tobacco as introduced by Decreto 61.838/2016.
• Rio de Janeiro: Lei 2.657/1996 article 14 IV for the general import rate and VII for the supérfluos rate, LC RJ 210/2023 for the state fund contribution (FECP), Decreto RJ 47.032/2020 for the lip products and shampoo carve-out. Primary source: ALERJ consolidated text of Lei 2.657/1996. SEFAZ-RJ blocks automated requests; confirm in a browser where possible.
• RioComex: Lei RJ 11.192/2026, text read on legislacao.fazenda.rj.gov.br, verified 23 September 2026.
• Paraná: RICMS/PR article 17 V and III "f", Lei 21.850/2023.
• Goiás: CTE article 27 I and §5, Lei 22.460/2023, Anexo VII (PROTEGE).
• Bahia: Lei 7.014 article 15 I, Lei 14.629/2023.
• Espírito Santo: Lei 7.000/2001 article 20 IV "g"; Parecer Consultivo 199/2024 of 27 May 2024 for the shampoo, shaving product and deodorant exceptions at 17%; Parecer Consultivo 542/2024, which confirms shampoo at 17%, sets conditioner 3305.90.00 at 25%, and revokes Parecer Consultivo 309/2024.
• Minas Gerais: Lei 24.471/2023 (FEM). Rio Grande do Sul: AMPARA surcharge per the state's own FAQ.
• Federal taxes forming part of the ICMS base: Lei 10.865/2004 article 8, with rates verified through Portal Único Siscomex on 7 September 2026.

Rates on this page were verified on 24 September 2026. State ICMS legislation changes independently of federal rates. Check the date before using any figure here.