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Customs penalties, retention and forfeiture in Brazil

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Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Changing

Brazil's heaviest customs sanction is forfeiture (perdimento) of the goods for damage to the Treasury, which covers importing without a required license, abandonment, hidden third party importers and fraud; if the goods cannot be found, it becomes a fine equal to the customs value. In a fraud audit customs can retain goods for 60 days, extendable by 60, and release them against a guarantee; fines also reach 100 percent of the price difference where value was falsified, and R$15,000 per carrier. The 1 percent fine for wrong tariff classification in art. 84 of MP 2.158-35 was repealed by Lei Complementar 227 of 2026.

USD conversions use the Banco Central do Brasil PTAX selling rate of 26 October 2026, BRL 5.5007 per USD.

Key facts

Fine replacing forfeiture when goods are not found	100 % of customs valueDecreto-Lei nº 1.455/1976, art. 23, § 3, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Fine on difference between declared and actual or arbitrated price	100 %MP nº 2.158-35/2001, art. 88, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Fine for failing to keep or produce import documents	5 % of customs valueLei nº 10.833/2003, art. 70, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Carrier fine for transporting goods subject to forfeiture	15000 BRLLei nº 10.833/2003, art. 75, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Retention of goods in a customs fraud audit (extension)	60 (plus 60) daysIN RFB nº 1.986/2020, art. 11, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
1 percent misclassification fine (MP 2.158-35, art. 84)	Repealed Lei Complementar nº 227/2026, as of 2026-10-27 · repealed

The rule

1. Damage to the Treasury, punished with forfeiture of the goods, includes importing goods without a required license where its issue is barred or suspended, abandonment of goods in bonded premises, the conduct listed in arts. 104 and 105 of Decreto-Lei 37 of 1966, and hiding the real taxpayer, seller, buyer or responsible party through fraud or sham, including the use of third parties, which is presumed when the origin, availability and transfer of the funds are not proven.Decreto-Lei nº 1.455, as amended by Lei nº 10.637 of 2002, art. 23, I to V, §§ 1 and 2, 1976-04-07 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. When the goods subject to forfeiture are not found, have been consumed or resold, forfeiture becomes a fine equal to the customs value on imports, or the invoice price on exports, assessed under the federal tax procedure; this does not prevent seizure where import, consumption or circulation of the goods is prohibited.
Example: Undervalued goods with a customs value of BRL 596,826 that were already sold can lead to a substitute fine of BRL 596,826, plus the taxes due. / On goods with a customs value of USD 108,500 the substitute fine is USD 108,500.Decreto-Lei nº 1.455, as amended by Lei nº 10.637 of 2002 and Lei nº 12.350 of 2010; Lei nº 10.833 art. 73, art. 23, §§ 3 and 4, 1976-04-07 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. A Receita Federal auditor applies forfeiture through an assessment notice backed by a seizure record. The taxpayer may challenge within 20 days of notice or is in default, and may appeal an adverse first instance decision to a second instance within 20 days.Decreto-Lei nº 1.455, as amended by Lei nº 14.651 of 2023, arts. 27, 27-A, 27-C and 27-D, 1976-04-07 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Lei 14.651 of 2023 rewrote the forfeiture procedure in art. 27, with the challenge and appeal steps in arts. 27-A to 27-F.

4. Where there are signs of an offence punished with forfeiture, an auditor may open a customs fraud audit and retain the goods for up to 60 days from notice of the retention, extendable by 60 days in justified cases, with the clock suspended while a demand is pending. The goods may be released earlier against a guarantee set within 5 business days, by cash deposit, bank guarantee or insurance, and must be released when the periods run out unless clearance is otherwise barred. The audit may end in forfeiture, tax assessments, a referral for cancellation of the CNPJ or a criminal referral.
Cost to do it: A bank guarantee or insurance bond for released goods must run for 5 years and be renewed while the situation lasts (art. 12, § 6).Instrução Normativa RFB nº 1.986, arts. 2, 5, 11, 12 and 16, 2020-10-29 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. Where fraud, tax evasion or collusion prevents finding the price actually paid, the tax base is arbitrated using, in order, the export price to Brazil of identical or similar goods and the international market price, and an administrative fine of 100 percent of the difference between the declared price and the actual or arbitrated price applies, on top of taxes and the tax penalty for incorrect declarations.Medida Provisória nº 2.158-35, art. 88, 2001-08-24 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. Failing to keep or produce the documents for an import lets customs set the value by a substitute method and arbitrate the price, with a fine of 5 percent of the customs value plus 100 percent of the difference between the declared and actual or arbitrated price.Lei nº 10.833, art. 70, 2003-12-29 official text · verified 2026-10-27

7. A carrier of goods subject to forfeiture is fined R$15,000, or R$30,000 for a repeat offence by the same vehicle or where the vehicle was modified to hide goods; road vehicles may be held until the fine is paid or the challenge is decided, and a vehicle unpaid after 45 days is treated as forfeited.
Example: R$15,000 for a first offence and R$30,000 for a repeat. / About USD 2,727 and USD 5,454.Lei nº 10.833, as amended by Lei nº 14.651 of 2023, art. 75, caput and §§ 1, 4 and 5, 2003-12-29 official text · verified 2026-10-27

8. Customs operators and other foreign trade participants may be warned, have their registration, licence or authorisation suspended for up to 12 months, or cancelled, for example after repeated suspensions or a final criminal conviction.Lei nº 10.833, art. 76, I to III, 2003-12-29 official text · verified 2026-10-27

9. The fine of 1 percent of the customs value, with a minimum of R$500, for goods wrongly classified in the Mercosur nomenclature or wrongly quantified in the statistical unit has been repealed; the correct classification remains relevant for the taxes due and other penalties.Medida Provisória nº 2.158-35, art. 84, repealed by Lei Complementar nº 227 of 2026, art. 84, 2001-08-24 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Lei Complementar 227 of 2026 repealed the 1 percent misclassification fine of MP 2.158-35 art. 84, as noted in the official Planalto text.

Sanction	Trigger	Amount	Norm
Forfeiture	Damage to the Treasury: no required license, abandonment, hidden importer, fraud	Loss of the goods	Decreto-Lei 1.455, art. 23
Substitute fine	Forfeitable goods not found, consumed or resold	100 percent of customs value	Decreto-Lei 1.455, art. 23, § 3
Price difference fine	Fraud prevents finding the real price	100 percent of the difference	MP 2.158-35, art. 88
Missing documents	Documents not kept or produced	5 percent of customs value plus 100 percent of the difference	Lei 10.833, art. 70
Carrier fine	Transporting forfeitable goods	R$15,000 (about USD 2,727); R$30,000 on repeat	Lei 10.833, art. 75
Operator sanctions	Listed conduct	Warning, suspension up to 12 months, cancellation	Lei 10.833, art. 76

Main customs sanctions (BRL at PTAX 5.5007 of 26 October 2026)

Worked example

Undervaluation: an importer declares USD 60,000 for goods actually bought for USD 100,000. The 100 percent fine on the USD 40,000 difference is USD 40,000, about BRL 220,028, on top of the taxes on the real price and the tax penalty for incorrect declarations.
Hidden buyer: a trading company imports in its own name for a client that supplied the funds, without the client being declared as buyer. If the funds cannot be traced, interposition is presumed and the goods face forfeiture, or a fine equal to their customs value if already sold.

Step by step

Make sure the declared importer, buyer or ordering party matches who really pays and owns the goods, and keep proof of the origin and transfer of the funds.
Keep the full document file for each import (invoice, contract, transport, insurance, payment) and be ready to produce it.
If goods are retained in a fraud audit, answer demands quickly, since pending demands suspend the 60 day clock, and consider offering a guarantee to release the goods.
Challenge a forfeiture assessment within 20 days of notice, and appeal within 20 days of an adverse first instance decision.
Review pending cases that rely on the repealed 1 percent misclassification fine, with counsel.

Common traps

Using an importer of record without declaring the real buyer: this is a direct route to forfeiture under art. 23, V.
Selling goods before a dispute is settled: forfeiture then becomes a fine equal to the full customs value.
Missing the 20 day challenge window: the taxpayer is then in default under art. 27-C.
Reading the repeal of the 1 percent fine as a licence to misclassify: taxes, interest and other penalties on a wrong NCM code still apply.

Sources

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