Currently I also live in Brazil but I came from another country.
I also realized that in Brazil custom fee + taxes for abroad equipments are too high, a custom fee is 60% (yes, sixty percents!), the reader can look prices for Apple devices in their site for Brazil. When I compare prices between US and Brazil Apple sites, I found that difference is about 100%!
But, you known, there is some options. I asked my Brazilian friends and they said that you can go to Paraguay (especially a city near waterfalls) and buy goods there. It is seems Paraguay don't have a custom fee only taxes. You can use https://www.comprasparaguai.com.br/ to compare prices. Brazilian citizens do not need a visa.
Also, I found that sellers on local Amazon and Mercado Livre also sell goods which are much cheaper, then in officials stores. For some goods prices are about like in US Amazon.
Other options are to travel to other countries, like US, Costa Rica, Ecuador or ask you friends or family members from abroad to buy and to bring to you.
I think the "Paraguayan route" is very-well known to most Brazilians. However, a small FYI since you might not know this: you still have to pay import/customs fees when bringing the purchases from Paraguay into Brazil, so if you do it legally you might save very little money compared to buying domestically. Most people buying from Paraguay are smuggling (or they pay "professional smugglers" to do it for them), and that's where most of the difference lies.
Any country. This is not specific to Paraguay. Basically you have a personal tax-free allowance (which is pretty low, but I do not know the exact amount) for items brought into the country and everything beyond that has import tax applied, which will vary according to the kind of items you are importing.
This is not different from many (most?) countries, except for the fact that the typical import tax in Brazil is probably way higher than the average country.
Thanks. Is it only for Brazilian citizens? When I came to Brazil with my equipment and belongings, no one asked me to pay fees.
As I know, the tax-free allowance is about $50 and it works only when a parcel is handled by Correios (the national post), for other logistical companies (like FedEx) you will pay taxes and customs fees (practically once it cost me +100% to the raw price from Amazon US for a parcel below $50).
[I thought a little later] Maybe you mean for orders from international e-commerce stores? Because paying for taxes and customs fees for goods which you bring by your hands in your luggage during traveling by flight sounds really strange. Of course, I mean the realistic amount, not gray import like bringing dozens of iPhones in bags... For example, as I know, in Russia it was about the equivalent of $10000 in cash.
It applies to Brazilian residents and on paper even to visitors: any time foreign goods pass the border. The fact that is inconsistently applied does not mean the law does not exist, so be prepared if they happen to single you out and enforce it.
It is definitely about both mail and your luggage. The link in my previous reply specifically mentions luggage, including a whole FAQ. Tax free limit when entering by air is 500 USD.
May I ask where are you from? I am a bit puzzled by your surprise because I do not know a single country that does not have similar laws. The whole EU has analogous rules, for example (and I live in the EU). Those absolutely apply to your luggage, and also mail. The difference is in implementation details such as what qualifies as personal use, what is the tax-free allowance, and what are the fees. But the concept itself is not something odd that only Brazil does.
I don't speak Portuguese and I use a translator to read it. So maybe it is wrong, but as I found in the link which you mentioned, the tax-free limit is 1000 USD (arrival at the country by air or sea) and 500 USD (arrival in the country by other means of international transport).
My main reason to surprising is the size of the limit. For example, if a person buys a laptop that cost 2000 US, he/she must pay additional fees. Or another situation, when foreign visitors bring their stuff (e.g. MacBook Pro or photo equipment) they also must pay fees. It is weird and awful.
I am from Russia. I am not an expert in import regulations, but as I see tips for travelers, the limit is 10000 USD (50 KG) by air for personal belongings and 500 USD (it is low and it was a surprise for me) by other transports.
In general, the customs fee size in Brazil for hi-tech devices for me looks pretty outdated, because I can see that there are only a few local brands and I don't know but maybe they just use OEM devices from China. And, of course, as I understand, not anyone international computer supplier who does localize their manufacturing in Brazil.
And, as I know, many EU residents when they visit the US buying laptops and phones, because it is cheaper and more models are available :)
You're right about the limit, I have mixed them up. It's 1000 USD when arriving by air or sea and 500 USD when arriving by land. Yes, the amount is pretty low.
Regarding visitors, I believe the fees are not really enforced because you can argue that the goods will not stay in the country and enforcement could hamper tourism. But if someone shows up with two brand new laptops still in the box, they'll probably have some explaining to do in case they're selected for customs checks and want to convince them that they're strictly for personal use and it's not an import.
I still stand behind that such rules are the norm, not the exception. The problem in Brazil is not the rule, but the low limits. Regarding EU residents when visiting the US, very similar import rules still apply but the difference is that (1) the limits are higher, and (2) it's easier to take the things out of the packaging and argue those are your personal belongings that you left EU with [1], and (3) the majority are not checked. But even in EU the fact that you're not caught does not mean that the rule does not exist: when you purchase things abroad and they add up to more than your tax-free limit, you are supposed to walk through the "goods to declare" line before leaving the airport, just like in Brazil.
[1] In Brazil if you want to make this argument you have to report your item to customs when leaving the country and then you get a receipt that you can show on your way back to prove that you left the country with it. If you don't have such receipt, customs can argue the item is new and purchased abroad.
Currently I also live in Brazil but I came from another country.
I also realized that in Brazil custom fee + taxes for abroad equipments are too high, a custom fee is 60% (yes, sixty percents!), the reader can look prices for Apple devices in their site for Brazil. When I compare prices between US and Brazil Apple sites, I found that difference is about 100%!
But, you known, there is some options. I asked my Brazilian friends and they said that you can go to Paraguay (especially a city near waterfalls) and buy goods there. It is seems Paraguay don't have a custom fee only taxes. You can use https://www.comprasparaguai.com.br/ to compare prices. Brazilian citizens do not need a visa.
Also, I found that sellers on local Amazon and Mercado Livre also sell goods which are much cheaper, then in officials stores. For some goods prices are about like in US Amazon.
Other options are to travel to other countries, like US, Costa Rica, Ecuador or ask you friends or family members from abroad to buy and to bring to you.