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Ex tarifário: lower import duty on capital and IT goods without local production

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

Brazil can temporarily cut the import duty on capital goods (BK) and IT and telecom goods (BIT) that have no equivalent Brazilian production, through an ex tarifário granted by the foreign trade chamber's executive committee (Gecex). The cut attaches to the good, not to the applicant, so once granted any importer of a matching good can use it; used goods, consumer goods and integrated systems are excluded. Requests go through the industry ministry's electronic system with catalogues, a pro forma invoice and an investment project, face a public consultation in which Brazilian makers can object, and can be revoked if local production appears.

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

Key facts

Ex tarifário renewal may be filed up to this many days before expiry	180 daysResolução Gecex nº 512/2023, art. 5, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Public consultation on ex tarifário renewals	20 daysResolução Gecex nº 512/2023, art. 5, § 1, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Appeal against rejection of an ex tarifário request	10 business daysResolução Gecex nº 512/2023, art. 19, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Wait before refiling a rejected request	1 yearResolução Gecex nº 512/2023, art. 21, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. The executive committee of the foreign trade chamber (Gecex) may grant a temporary reduction of the import duty rate on capital goods, IT and telecom goods, and their parts and components, marked BK or BIT in the Mercosur Common External Tariff and without equivalent national production, as an ex tarifário.Resolução Gecex nº 512, arts. 1, 2 and 17, 2023-08-16 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. The reduction is granted to the goods themselves, not to particular applicants, and does not apply to integrated systems, used goods, consumer goods (goods not used as an input or capital good to produce another good or service) or auto parts, which follow their own Gecex regime.Resolução Gecex nº 512, art. 2, §§ 1 to 3, 2023-08-16 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. Requests are filed only through forms in the industry ministry's electronic information system (SEI) by a company or trade association with Brazilian legal personality. Each request must cover goods under a single NCM code, propose a TEC style description without brand or model, and include original catalogues, a pro forma invoice, technical literature translated into Portuguese and the applicant's investment project.
Cost to do it: No government filing fee is set in Resolução Gecex 512; the cost is preparing the technical dossier, translations and the investment project.Resolução Gecex nº 512, arts. 3 and 4, 2023-08-16 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. Renewal may be requested during the life of the ex tarifário, at most 180 days before it expires, and is put to a 20 day public consultation in which Brazilian makers of equivalent goods or trade associations may object.Resolução Gecex nº 512, art. 5, 2023-08-16 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. An ex tarifário may be revoked before its term, on request or on the government's initiative, if equivalent national production appears; revocation requests go to a 30 day consultation, and the ministry proposes a later effective date where an investment project is under way.Resolução Gecex nº 512, art. 7, 2023-08-16 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. The ministry rejects requests where equivalent national production is shown, for used goods or BIT consumer goods, or on the art. 15 criteria; an appeal on legality grounds may be filed within 10 business days, without suspensive effect, and a rejected request may be refiled only after one year unless there is relevant new information.Resolução Gecex nº 512, arts. 18, 19 and 21, 2023-08-16 official text · verified 2026-10-27

7. As an exception, requests filed from 9 February to 31 March 2026 for goods whose TEC rate is 0 percent and that appear in Resolução Gecex 852 of 4 February 2026 were to be sent to Gecex with a proposal for a provisional reduction for up to 120 days, revocable earlier if the request is found to lack merit.Resolução Gecex nº 853, amending Resolução Gecex nº 512, art. 1 (new art. 8-A of Resolução 512), 2026-02-06 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Resolução Gecex 853 of 6 February 2026 added art. 8-A to Resolução 512, a temporary fast track for goods covered by the February 2026 tariff realignment in Resolução Gecex 852.

Stage	Who	Deadline or rule	Article
Filing	Company or association with Brazilian legal personality, via SEI	One NCM code per request, full dossier	arts. 3 and 4
Technical analysis	Industry ministry secretariat	Checks national production and art. 15 criteria	arts. 13 to 16
Decision	Gecex	Grants the reduction	art. 17
Appeal on rejection	Applicant	10 business days, legality only	art. 19
Renewal	Interested party	Up to 180 days before expiry; 20 day consultation	art. 5
Revocation	On request or by the government	30 day consultation; delayed effect for ongoing investments	art. 7

Ex tarifário lifecycle under Resolução Gecex 512/2023

Worked example

Each percentage point of import duty removed on a production line with a customs value of BRL 2,000,000 (about USD 363,590) saves BRL 20,000 (about USD 3,636) of import duty.
Because the reduction attaches to the good, a competitor importing the same machine under the same NCM and description can use an ex tarifário that another company obtained.

Step by step

Confirm the NCM code and that it is marked BK or BIT in the TEC, and check the ministry's list of ex tarifários in force for an existing description that fits.
If none fits, search for Brazilian makers of equivalent goods: their existence is the main ground for rejection.
Register in the ministry's SEI system, then file the request with catalogues, pro forma invoice, translated technical literature, a draft description in TEC style and the investment project.
Answer any objection from Brazilian producers in the consultation, and appeal within 10 business days if rejected on legal grounds.
Diarise the expiry and file for renewal within the last 180 days.

Common traps

Ordering the machine on the assumption the ex tarifário will be granted: grants depend on the absence of national production and on Gecex's decision.
Describing the goods with a brand or model, or across several NCM codes: art. 4 requires one NCM and a generic description.
Importing used machinery: used goods are excluded under art. 2, § 2.
Assuming a grant lasts for the whole project: it may be revoked early if national production appears, subject to a transition for ongoing investments.
Not checking the latest Gecex resolutions: the 2026 tariff realignment and later resolutions changed rates and provisional grants several times.

Sources

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