Since the enactment of Constitutional Amendment No. 132/2023, I have been following in this column the impacts of the tax reform on Brazilian foreign trade, [1] examining topics such as exports, special customs regimes, the Manaus Free Trade Zone, Export Processing Zones, Repetro, international remittances and the future General Customs Law.
With the enactment of Complementary Law No. 214/2025 and, subsequently, CGIBS Resolution No. 6/2026 and Decree No. 12,955/2026, we have entered a new stage: that of the effective operationalization of the tax reform. More than just regulating the IBS and CBS, these legal instruments allow us to see how the reform has systematically incorporated themes traditionally linked to Customs Law, offering important perspectives on the modernization of the Brazilian customs system.
Regulations of 2026
Brazilian Law No. 214/2025 dedicated specific regulations to imports, exports, special customs regimes, travelers’ baggage, international shipments, and Export Processing Zones. Therefore, there is a broad legal framework focused on foreign trade operations. The operationalization of these rules occurred through CGIBS Resolution No. 6, of April 30, 2026, and Decree No. 12,955, of May 29, 2026, instruments that constitute the first comprehensive regulation of the new consumption taxes levied on foreign trade.
An important aspect of these regulations is the adoption of a parallel regulatory architecture. Although CBS and IBS are distinct taxes, CGIBS Resolution No. 6/2026 and Decree No. 12,955/2026 utilize a structure, concepts, and solutions that are broadly convergent, materializing the guideline of material and operational uniformity established by the tax reform. For foreign trade, this option reduces compliance costs, increases predictability, and favors the coordinated action of tax administrations.
Imports, domestic processing and taxation at destination.
Article 65 of CGIBS Resolution No. 6/2026 and Article 65 of Decree No. 12,955/2026, in accordance with Article 63 of LC No. 214/2025, establish that IBS and CBS apply to the importation of goods and services from abroad carried out by individuals, legal entities, or entities without legal personality, even if not registered or required to register under the regular tax regime, regardless of their purpose.
The tax incidence does not depend on whether the individual is a habitual importer or the economic purpose of the transaction. In line with the logic of destination-based taxation, the central element becomes the domestic consumption of the good or service originating from abroad. Although this orientation was already present in the PIS/Cofins-Importation and ICMS-Importation systems, the 2026 regulation disciplines it in a way that is more consistent with the consumption taxation model adopted by the tax reform.
The logic adopted by the regulations becomes even more evident when examining the rules governing tax rates. Articles 471 and 472 of CGIBS Resolution No. 6/2026 and Articles 469 and 470 of Decree No. 12,955/2026 establish that the tax rates applicable to imports must correspond to those applicable to domestic transactions involving the same goods or services.
The model embodies the principle of national treatment foreseen in Article III of the GAAT. The taxation of consumption on imports is not intended to further burden foreign products, but to ensure that they bear a tax burden equivalent to that levied on domestic products. In other words, the IBS and CBS taxes apply to imports, guided by destination-based taxation, competitive neutrality, and the principle of national treatment.
Payment, dispatch and compliance
Article 76 of Supplementary Law No. 214/2025 establishes that the IBS and CBS taxes levied on the importation of tangible goods must be paid upon delivery of the goods submitted for customs clearance, with the option of advance payment at the time of registration of the import declaration. Decree No. 12,955/2026 and CGIBS Resolution No. 6/2026 operationalize this regulation.
The link between payment and delivery of goods preserves the traditional logic of Customs Law, even though the IBS and CBS integrate a system of non-cumulative financial transactions, crediting and compensation, so that the legal-tax relationship is not exhausted with customs clearance.
The legal framework also highlights the importance attributed to operator compliance. Paragraph 2 of Article 76 of Supplementary Law No. 214/2025 authorizes the regulation to establish situations in which the payment of IBS and CBS may occur at a later time for operators certified in the Brazilian Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Program. This provision was reproduced in Article 87, Paragraph 3, I, of Decree No. 12,955/2026 and in Article 87, Paragraph 3, I, of CGIBS Resolution No. 6/2026, incorporating into the new tax regulations a logic that values the trust and compliance history of operators.
This solution is aligned with international trends in trade facilitation and risk management, according to which different degrees of compliance may justify different levels of administrative intervention.
Exports and credit maintenance
Resolution CGIBS No. 6/2026 regulates the IBS (Tax on Goods and Services) applicable to exports in its own chapter, as does Decree No. 12,955/2026 in relation to the CBS (Contribution on Goods and Services). In accordance with Article 79 of Supplementary Law No. 214/2025, the regulations ensure the immunity of exports and preserve the exporter’s right to appropriate and use credits related to previous operations.
This combination of exemption on exports and maintenance of tax credits is fundamental for the effective tax relief of exports. Brazilian experience demonstrates that simple exemption is not sufficient to eliminate the tax burden throughout the production chain. When the exporter accumulates tax credits without being able to recover them, part of the taxation remains incorporated into the cost of the exported product.
Brazilian Law No. 214/2025 structured a comprehensive system for the appropriation, use, transfer, compensation, and reimbursement of credits in articles 47 to 62. The preservation of credits ensured within the scope of exports now operates in an environment designed to allow greater fluidity in the recovery of accumulated values. The operational centralization of the IBS (Brazilian VAT) within the Management Committee, associated with the digital architecture of the new taxes, creates conditions for a faster and more efficient credit recovery system than the one currently existing. This is one of the most relevant differences compared to the current system, in which the recovery of accumulated credits frequently represents an obstacle to the full exemption of exports and, consequently, to the international competitiveness of Brazilian products.
Special customs regimes
Special customs regimes represent one of the points of greatest convergence between tax reform and customs law. Complementary Law No. 214/2025 dedicated specific regulations to the matter, recognizing the need to harmonize the IBS (Integrated Sales Tax) and the CBS (Contribution on Goods and Services) with traditional instruments of customs policy and international competitiveness.
Resolution CGIBS No. 6/2026 and Decree No. 12,955/2026 incorporate the main Brazilian special customs regimes, including drawback , Recof, Repetro, Export Processing Zones and the Manaus Free Trade Zone.
The option adopted by the supplementary legislation was to preserve the fundamental logic of these regimes. Goods subject to specific customs controls or destined for export continue to be subject to differentiated tax treatment. Although the new system depends less on regimes such as drawback and Recof to reduce export taxes, these instruments continue to play an essential role in the international integration of the Brazilian economy.
The main innovation lies in the integration of these regimes into the non-cumulative system of the IBS and CBS. The suspension of the new taxes ceases to be a mere exception to the general regime and begins to function as a tax neutrality mechanism compatible with destination-based taxation.
Also noteworthy is the incorporation of mechanisms associated with compliance, operational monitoring, and information integration. The enjoyment of benefits remains contingent upon adherence to control, verification, and traceability requirements, reinforcing the alignment between the tax regulations of the new taxes and the modern risk management practices adopted by customs administrations.
New General Customs Law
The 2026 regulation also provides important input for the debate on the future General Customs Law. Currently under consideration in the National Congress through Bill No. 4,423/2024, the proposal seeks to consolidate and modernize Brazilian customs legislation.
The experience gained from the regulation of CBS and IBS offers valuable elements for this discussion. Several solutions incorporated into the new taxes reflect contemporary trends in international tax and customs administration, such as destination-based taxation, non-cumulative taxation, efficient credit recovery, risk management, information integration, and the intensive use of electronic systems. Also noteworthy is the emphasis on operator compliance, evidenced by the possibility of payment after the goods are released for consumption by participants in the Brazilian Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Program, and the systematic reorganization of special customs regimes, structured according to categories that are more coherent and compatible with international trade control and facilitation practices.
The 2026 regulation demonstrates that the tax reform has incorporated into the Brazilian legal system solutions inspired by more modern international standards for taxation and control of international operations. In this context, Bill No. 4,423/2024 presents itself as a fundamental instrument to extend these advances to other taxes levied on imports and exports, as well as to customs control itself, contributing to ensuring that Brazilian customs legislation harmoniously and coherently follows the regulatory evolution already promoted by the tax reform.
Final considerations
An analysis of Decree No. 12,955/2026 and CGIBS Resolution No. 6/2026 demonstrates that the regulation of the tax reform has gone far beyond the simple discipline of the CBS and IBS. In addressing imports, exports, and special customs regimes, the regulations have systematically incorporated mechanisms for destination-based taxation, compliance, risk management, information integration, and credit recovery, aligned with contemporary trends in tax and customs administration.
In this context, the future General Customs Law, currently the subject of Bill No. 4,423/2024, assumes a strategic role. More than consolidating scattered regulations, it could allow Brazilian customs legislation to keep pace, harmoniously and coherently, with the regulatory evolution already promoted by the tax reform, preserving the unity of the legal treatment of international operations.
____________________________________
[1] The main articles published are as follows:
1 MEIRA, Liziane Angelotti. Tax reform: impacts of the silver bullet on foreign trade . Consultor Jurídico (ConJur), Território Aduaneiro, April 11, 2023. Available here .
2 MEIRA, Liziane Angelotti. The tax reform is coming, and now what about foreign trade? . Consultor Jurídico (ConJur), Território Aduaneiro, August 1, 2023. Available here .
3 MEIRA, Liziane Angelotti. The impact of tax reform on foreign trade (part 1) . Consultor Jurídico (ConJur), Território Aduaneiro, May 21, 2024. Available here .
4 DORNELLES, Arnaldo Diefenthaeler; MEIRA, Liziane Angelotti. The impact of tax reform (part 2): export trading companies . Consultor Jurídico (ConJur), Território Aduaneiro, July 30, 2024. Available here .
5 MEIRA, Liziane Angelotti. Impact of tax reform (part 3): special customs regimes . Consultor Jurídico (ConJur), Customs Territory, September 3, 2024. Available here .
6 MEIRA, Liziane Angelotti. Impacts of tax reform (part 4): foreign trade and PLP 68/2024 . Consultor Jurídico (ConJur), Customs Territory, Oct. 8, 2024. Available here .
7 MEIRA, Liziane Angelotti. Impacts of tax reform (part 5): the new General Customs Law and special customs regimes . Consultor Jurídico (ConJur), Customs Territory, Nov. 12, 2024. Available here .
8 MEIRA, Liziane Angelotti. And the “blouses”? Will international purchases be taxed more? . Consultor Jurídico (ConJur), Território Aduaneiro, April 29, 2025. Available here .
9 MEIRA, Liziane Angelotti. Repetro: impacts of tax reform and the new General Customs Law . Consultor Jurídico (ConJur), Customs Territory, July 8, 2025. Available here .
10 MEIRA, Liziane Angelotti. Impacts of tax reform on Customs Law . Institute for Research in Customs Law (IPDA), Women in Customs Column, May 7, 2026. Available here .
- Liziane Angelotti Meira is the head of the Technical and Legal Advisory Office of CARF (Administrative Council of Tax Appeals), a tax auditor for the Federal Revenue Service, a professor, researcher, and deputy coordinator of the Master’s Program in Public Policy and Government at FGV-EPPG (Getúlio Vargas Foundation – Graduate School of Public Administration), a member of the International Academy of Customs Law, holds a doctorate in Tax Law from PUC-SP (Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo), a master’s degree in Law, and a specialization in International Taxation from Harvard University. She was also awarded the Landon H. Gammon Fellowship by Harvard.