Import operations
Once a company or a Brazilian buyer is in place, each shipment still needs its own classification, its own landed cost, and its own customs clearance. This is where those get run.
Who this is for
A company already selling into Brazil, through its own entity or through a Brazilian buyer or distributor, that needs a specific shipment classified, costed and cleared, rather than the market entry question answered again from scratch.
The problem this solves
Each shipment carries its own NCM classification, and the classification decides the duty, the IPI base, whether a regulatory agency has to sign off, and which import licence category applies. Landed cost then compounds through a fixed order, duty first, then IPI on duty-inclusive value, then PIS and COFINS, then ICMS grossed up on a base that includes all of the above (the mechanics are on how Brazil's import taxes cascade). Getting any one line wrong before the declaration is filed means paying the wrong tax or, worse, discovering a missing licence with the cargo already in port.
Importing without your own company
Assessment and set-up decisions aside, many shipments run without the foreign supplier holding any Brazilian entity at all. A foreign company cannot itself be the importer under Brazilian customs rules: accreditation in Siscomex is available to Brazilian legal entities and individuals acting in their own name, and a foreign company's own CNPJ cannot be used for import activity. The goods instead move through a Brazilian buyer or distributor, who either imports directly, holding its own RADAR accreditation, or engages a Brazilian trading company to import on its behalf under IN RFB 1.861/2018, either por conta e ordem de terceiro, where the trading company clears customs in its own name for goods the adquirente, the Brazilian buyer, has bought abroad, or por encomenda, where the trading company buys and clears the goods in its own name for onward sale to the pre-agreed Brazilian encomendante. In both structures the adquirente or encomendante is the Brazilian buyer or distributor, and it holds its own RADAR regardless of which route is used. Where this fits your shipment, we identify and vet that Brazilian buyer or distributor and the trading company behind it, rather than defaulting to a company set-up you may not need for this deal.
What we do
- Classify the product's NCM code and confirm the duty, IPI and PIS/COFINS treatment through Portal Único Siscomex.
- Calculate landed cost through the full tax cascade, AFRMM and the Siscomex fee, compared against your current pricing.
- Check RioComex, Ex-Tarifário and any relevant preferential origin regime for eligibility.
- Coordinate the despachante aduaneiro on classification, Duimp or DI filing, and LPCO where a licence applies.
- Compare candidate ports on ICMS rate and logistics cost for the specific shipment.
Deliverables
A landed cost calculation with every tax line sourced and dated, a customs channel and documentation plan, and, where relevant, a confirmed RioComex or Ex-Tarifário eligibility finding.
Timeline
Timeline is set in the written quote after the diagnostic call, depending on how many regulatory checks the NCM code triggers.
What we need from you
The product specification, country of origin, purchase price, and the import structure you are using (your own entity, or a Brazilian buyer or trading company).
Price
From USD 1,000 as an individual service, or included in the route to sales and full-cycle packages; see pricing. The despachante's own fee and any government charges are quoted separately and shown as a separate line.
Who does the work
Our desk in Rio de Janeiro runs the classification and landed cost work; a licensed customs broker (despachante aduaneiro) handles the declaration itself.
Sources
- Import-by-proxy structures (por conta e ordem, por encomenda), the adquirente/encomendante holding its own RADAR: IN RFB 1.861/2018 articles 2-3, as discussed on RADAR and Siscomex.
- The tax cascade order (II, IPI, PIS/COFINS, ICMS, AFRMM, Siscomex fee): how Brazil's import taxes cascade.
- RioComex and Ex-Tarifário eligibility: ICMS by state and Ex-Tarifário.
- Price, USD 1,000 as an individual service: our own fee, confirmed 24 September 2026, see pricing.
This page describes a paid service. Rates cited follow the sourced pages linked above and are not repeated here without their date and act.
Facts checked 24 September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need my own Brazilian company for this?
No. A foreign company cannot itself be the importer under Brazilian customs rules, so the goods move through a Brazilian buyer or distributor, who either imports directly on its own RADAR or engages a Brazilian trading company to import on its behalf under IN RFB 1.861/2018, either por conta e ordem or por encomenda. In both structures the Brazilian buyer or distributor is the adquirente or encomendante, and holds its own RADAR accreditation; the foreign supplier is not a party to the customs declaration. We identify and vet that Brazilian buyer or distributor, and the trading company behind it where one is needed.
What does NCM classification actually decide?
The import duty rate, the IPI rate, whether ANVISA, MAPA or INMETRO applies, and which import licence category the shipment falls into. A wrong classification is not a paperwork problem; it changes the tax bill and can surface a licence requirement after the goods are already at the port. See how Brazil's import taxes cascade for how the classification feeds every downstream number.
Can you get my shipment into RioComex or Ex-Tarifário?
We check whether your NCM code qualifies for either regime and, where it does, structure the shipment to use it. RioComex needs customs clearance in Rio de Janeiro and RADAR Ilimitada among its entry conditions, covered on ICMS by state; Ex-Tarifário applies to specific capital goods codes without a domestic equivalent.
What port should the shipment clear through?
It depends on the product, the origin, and the ICMS rate in the clearing state, which can differ by tens of percentage points for the same goods. We run that comparison as part of the landed cost calculation rather than defaulting to whichever port the supplier's freight forwarder proposes.
Work the Brazilian side of your deal with us
We are based in Rio de Janeiro. Send us the specifics and we will tell you where things stand before you commit.