Lula signs provisional measure to eliminate “blouse tax”

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed this Tuesday a provisional measure to eliminate federal taxation on products worth up to US$50 purchased on international platforms, known as the “blouse tax”.

Law in force since 2024 established a 20% tax for international purchases up to this amount, in an attempt to control the entry of products into the country and protect the national industry from external competition, especially from Chinese companies.

In an election year, the government was being pressured to reverse this taxation, in an attempt to improve the popularity of Lula, who is expected to seek re-election in October.

Even before the law that created the taxation was sanctioned, Lula had criticized the tax, pointing out that it could harm the poorest.

In an announcement at Palácio do Planalto, the executive secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Rogério Ceron, explained that the measure was possible after a “very significant advance” in the fight against smuggling.

“We managed to practically eliminate it, we managed to combat smuggling and regularize the sector”, he stated, citing the Remessa Compliance program, created by the Federal Revenue Service to certify e-commerce companies.

According to Ceron, the provisional measure will be published in the Official Gazette of the Union this Tuesday and the federal tax will be zero as of Wednesday.

Despite the cut in federal taxes, the 17% ICMS state tax on these products is still in effect.