1. Brazil’s “devil customs”
Brazil has very strict inspections on imported products. Electrical products and products with cartoon patterns are extremely difficult to clear customs, which can be regarded as “devil customs”. Although the Brazilian market demand is huge, the customs problem has caused many cross-border e-commerce sellers to stay away. In order to win this treasure trove market with high unit prices and high profits, sellers should pay more attention to customs clearance. Many products cannot be imported without a license. For example, medicines, food and LED products are the most common products that require import licenses. In addition, Brazil also has relevant regulations prohibiting the import of second-hand goods, unless they are products with special properties such as antiques and artworks. For certain types of goods such as toys, they need to be tested and inspected by regulatory laboratories when they are imported for resale.
2. Brazil’s logistics and tariffs
Brazil’s logistics costs are high, timeliness is poor, and customs clearance is slow and complicated, which is a “headache” for sellers.
(1) Brazil’s logistics
As the saying goes, “time is money”. In domestic e-commerce, if the goods do not arrive within 3 days, customers will start to urge the order. However, if we are doing cross-border e-commerce business in Brazil, we will find that this statement is not always applicable. Brazilian consumers have to wait an average of 45 days to receive products purchased online in China. Although the waiting time is a bit long, Brazil’s international orders have increased by an average of 16% each year. Although Brazilians are willing to wait, if we really intend to enter the Brazilian market, when setting the store logistics time, we must ensure that the delivery is within the promised number of days. If any temporary problems arise, we must inform the buyer in advance and provide a solution to avoid complaints.
(2) Brazilian tariffs
Many sellers in the Brazilian market often ignore its complex legal system, and accidentally cause taxes to be more than twice the cost of the product. Therefore, the price of goods exported to Brazil is at least twice that of similar products on international websites such as Amazon.
As a member of the Southern Common Market, Brazil can trade freely within the common market and has an external tariff of 23%. In 2010, the average tariff in Brazil was 11.45%, and the import tax was 10%~35%, so sellers must clearly explain the tariff fees to buyers. The value of the goods cannot be declared too low, otherwise it will be revalued. For orders over $3,000, Brazilian customs will impose a 60% import tax.
According to current data and market feedback, Brazil is listed as one of the most difficult countries in the world to clear customs. Except for small air parcels, other parcels are often checked, especially FedEx and DHL parcels, and the recipient’s VAT registration number must be provided. Therefore, it is recommended to send EMS (postal service). After all, private companies also charge customs clearance fees, which are 4 to 5 times higher than the National Postal Bureau. Goods delivered by postal services only charge 60% import tariffs.