RioComex: Rio de Janeiro's reduced import regime

The short answer

RioComex, Lei RJ 11.192/2026, runs from 1 June 2026 to 31 December 2032 and brings the ICMS burden on qualifying imports down to 4%, against a standard import rate of 18% in Rio de Janeiro or 39% on the supérfluos band (see ICMS by state for those baseline figures). Qualifying is not automatic: it needs RADAR Ilimitada, clearance through Rio de Janeiro specifically, one of six alternative criteria, and ongoing tax regularity.

The benefit itself

Article 4 III "c" sets the reduced effective burden at 4% for imported goods that have a domestic similar under Resolução do Senado 13/2012, cleared through Rio de Janeiro. The law also provides ICMS deferral on the import of finished goods until the internal shipment that follows, a reduced base on internal operations down to the interstate level, presumed credit up to 75% on internal shipments to distribution centres and up to 70% on interstate shipments, and exemption from the FOT contribution. None of this applies to a Simples Nacional company, and it does not apply to goods imported for the importer's own consumption rather than for sale.

The six criteria, confirmed against the law text

At least one of these, under article 3, qualifies a business for the regime:

1. Contributes to job creation.
2. Represents an economic activity not yet present in the state.
3. Predominantly uses raw materials, goods or services from Rio de Janeiro.
4. Can be considered strategic for development.
5. Is located in a region the state's own planning considers a priority.
6. Strengthens existing logistics infrastructure.

Meeting one of these sits alongside, not instead of, the accreditation and clearance conditions: RADAR Ilimitada in Siscomex (article 2), customs clearance through a port, airport or customs zone located in Rio de Janeiro (article 8), a minimum monthly ICMS payment at or above the arithmetic average of the applicant's own ICMS payments over the preceding 12 months, and tax and cadastral regularity with the state treasury. Entry runs by notice through SEI-RJ to the Superintendência de Benefícios Fiscais.

What is excluded

The Anexo Único exclusion list, drawn from the law's own NCM code table, covers coffee, wheat flour, cocoa under headings 1801-1806, ethanol, stone, cement, ore, coal, oil and fuels, chapter 28-29 chemicals, wood, iron and steel under chapter 72, and the specific codes 7308.90.10, 8202.99.10 and 9504.30.00. Cosmetics, chapter 33, is not on this list and can qualify. Inside the regime: fasteners (7318), bearings, pumps, compressors, confectionery (1704) and biscuits (1905). Chocolate specifically (1806) is excluded, even though it sits in a nearby heading to confectionery, which is not. Beverages, transport and aircraft, sometimes named alongside RioComex in law-firm reviews, actually sit under a different incentive regime, article 17 of Lei 9.025/2020, not this one.

Orientational example

Face cream, NCM 3304.99.10, cleared into Rio de Janeiro under RioComex at the 4% effective burden works out to a total tax burden (import duty, 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. This is orientational: applicability to a specific code should be confirmed before signing a contract, since the domestic-similar test under Resolução do Senado 13/2012 turns on the specific product, not the chapter.

Where RADAR Ilimitada comes from

RADAR Ilimitada, one of the entry conditions, is assigned automatically once a company's estimated financial capacity, based on taxes actually paid over the preceding five years, exceeds USD 150,000 for a six-month period; it is not granted for demonstrating a general track record in foreign trade. A company starting at the lower Limitada tier can raise its limit through a revisão de estimativa, under IN RFB 1.984/2020 article 29 for the right to apply and Portaria Coana 72/2020 articles 4 and 11 for the grounds and calculation. Full detail is on RADAR and Siscomex.

Sources

• Lei RJ 11.192/2026, published DOE-RJ 21 May 2026, in force 1 June 2026 to 31 December 2032: legislacao.fazenda.rj.gov.br, articles 2, 3, 4 III "c", and 8, confirmed against the law text 23-24 September 2026.
• Anexo Único exclusion list: same law.
• Beverages, transport and aircraft under a separate regime: article 17, Lei 9.025/2020, per a law-firm review (Machado Meyer), not independently re-confirmed on the primary text of that separate law.
• RADAR Ilimitada and the revisão de estimativa: IN RFB 1.984/2020 article 29; Portaria Coana 72/2020 articles 4 and 11. See RADAR and Siscomex for the full sourcing.
• Baseline ICMS rates for comparison: ICMS by state.

Rates verified 23-24 September 2026. Entry into RioComex is by application and review, not automatic; confirm your specific NCM code's domestic-similar status before modelling the benefit into a landed cost.