According to data released by the Central Bank last week, the month of April marked a drop in international purchases of small value.
The numbers show that US$ 701 million were moved, which represents a drop of 25.3% compared to the previous month and 20% compared to April 2022.
Everything indicates that this decline in imports has a reason: the fear of taxation on international purchases.
This is even more justifiable when we observe that the Brazilian consumer has been more cautious after the government announced that it could end the exemption for purchases below US$ 50. With the bad repercussion of the matter, the Ministry of Finance backed down, but left distrustful importers.
Central Bank data released by Money Times also show that the pace of growth in international purchases had already been falling since the beginning of the year, but always registering increases of 14%, 11% and 7% in the first three months of the year, respectively.
Even so, the numbers for 2023 are in stark contrast to what happened in 2022, as international remittances grew by 120% in August and 176% in October.
For now, it is not possible to know whether the drop in the pace of purchases will continue in May, since the month has not yet ended. In any case, it is important to remember that the Brazilian government has been taxing several purchases at 60% to follow the federal law that regulates imports.
In addition, the Federal Revenue has studied charging the tax at the time of purchase. For this, the agency must partner with the international retailers themselves so that the collection is automatic.
This can make purchases from partner companies reach consumers faster, as they will be classified as “green”.
