Open an e-commerce company in Brazil as a foreigner

Selling from abroad. A foreign store ships each order to the Brazilian customer as an international parcel, under Brazil's import rules for international shipments. The Federal Revenue Service runs Remessa Conforme, a voluntary certification program for e-commerce companies, Brazilian or foreign, whose goods reach buyers in Brazil this way. No Brazilian company is needed on the seller's side, but delivery takes longer and each platform decides whether it accepts foreign sellers.

Selling through a Brazilian company. The company holds inventory in Brazil, sells as a domestic seller and issues Brazilian invoices. This is the model that allows fast delivery, domestic seller accounts on marketplaces and a local operation that can grow. It is the model this guide is about.

A company that sells goods online needs more than a CNPJ. The table shows the usual components and who handles each one. The final list depends on your products and structure and is confirmed at the start.

A Brazilian company can sell through its own store, built on platforms such as Shopify, Nuvemshop or VTEX, and through marketplaces at the same time. For tax purposes, the channel changes how sales, fees and payouts are recorded, but not who the seller is: every sale is made by your company and documented with its own invoice.

Marketplaces pay out the sale amount minus commissions, shipping and other fees, often on different dates. Reconciling those payouts with invoices and fees is where most e-commerce accounting errors happen, and it is part of Escalei's monthly routine. More on our e-commerce accounting page (in Portuguese).

Opening and approving a seller account follows each platform's own rules. Escalei structures the company and its tax side; it cannot guarantee that a marketplace will approve an account.

Brazilian e-commerce is taxed at two levels. The state tax on goods drives most of the operational work; the federal taxes depend on the tax regime.

• ICMS is the state VAT on the sale of goods. The rate and the rules depend on the product and on the states involved.
• DIFAL applies to interstate sales to final consumers who are not ICMS taxpayers, such as individual shoppers: the difference between the destination state's internal rate and the interstate rate belongs to the destination state and is paid by the seller.
• ICMS-ST (tax substitution) applies to some products: the tax for later stages of the chain is collected in advance by one taxpayer, which changes pricing and invoices.
• Federal taxes: PIS and COFINS on revenue, and IRPJ and CSLL on profit, calculated according to the tax regime.

Brazil's consumption tax reform is replacing these taxes gradually. 2026 is a test year for the new taxes. The CBS replaces PIS and COFINS from 2027. The IBS replaces ICMS and the municipal service tax (ISS): ICMS and ISS rates are reduced step by step from 2029 to 2032, and both taxes are abolished in 2033. A company opened now will operate under both systems for several years, and its structure should take that into account.

Product classification (NCM) is the starting point for all of this. Escalei reviews it product by product before the first sale. For more detail in Portuguese, see how DIFAL works and how ICMS-ST works.

Simples Nacional, the simplified regime used by many small Brazilian stores, is not available when a partner is domiciled abroad or when another company, such as a foreign parent company, holds shares in the business. A company with a partner domiciled abroad or a corporate shareholder therefore chooses between:

• Lucro Presumido, available within the conditions set by law: income taxes are calculated on a percentage of revenue set by law, whatever the real margin. In 2026, PIS and COFINS follow the cumulative system, with no credits on purchases.
• Lucro Real: income taxes are calculated on the profit actually earned. In 2026, PIS and COFINS follow the non-cumulative system, in which PIS and COFINS paid on goods bought for resale, including imported goods, can generate credits, with exceptions set by law. It often fits operations with thin margins, high costs or imported goods.

The choice is made with numbers, before incorporation, and reviewed as the business grows. Lucro Real is one of Escalei's specialties; see our Lucro Real page (in Portuguese).

Many foreign founders plan to import their own products. A Brazilian company can do this in two ways:

• Importing in its own name, after being enabled in Siscomex, Brazil's foreign trade system, with the Federal Revenue Service. This enablement is commonly called RADAR.
• Importing through a trading company, which carries out the import on the company's behalf (por conta e ordem) or to order (por encomenda). The Brazilian company that buys or orders the goods must also be enabled in Siscomex, and the model changes costs and how tax credits work.

Under the rules in force in 2026, imports are mainly subject to import duty, IPI, PIS-Import, COFINS-Import and state ICMS, plus the AFRMM, a surcharge on the freight of goods that arrive by ship. For IPI purposes, the importer is treated as an industrial establishment, so IPI is generally due again when it resells the imported product. The tax reform changes this list from 2027. Some products also need a license or permit from a regulatory agency, such as ANVISA or MAPA, before they can be imported.

Customs clearance is handled by a customs broker (despachante aduaneiro). Escalei works with partner customs brokers and puts you in touch with them, while it handles the accounting and tax side of imports. Direct import operations may require additional accounting services or an adjusted scope, always quoted in advance. More detail in Portuguese: taxes on importing to resell online.

The fiscal address and the inventory do not have to be in the same place. A company that sells goods can be registered at a coworking address, provided the address is validated against the activity and the municipality's rules. Escalei does not provide the address; we introduce partner coworking spaces.

Inventory can stay with a marketplace fulfillment service, such as Mercado Livre Full or Amazon FBA, or with a fulfillment company that stores, packs and ships your orders. Escalei works with partner fulfillment companies and can introduce you to them. Sending goods to these places is documented with its own invoice, and the ICMS rules for that movement depend on the operation. This is defined before the first shipment, not after. See Mercado Livre Full: invoices and ICMS (in Portuguese).

Money sent from abroad as equity, such as a capital contribution, is foreign direct investment. It is governed by Law 14,286/2021 and the Central Bank's Resolution BCB 278/2022, and the company reports it to the Central Bank through the SCE-IED system in the cases those rules set out. Registering the investment correctly matters later, when profits are sent abroad or capital is repatriated.

Since 1 January 2026, profits and dividends paid or remitted abroad are subject to 10% withholding income tax (Law 15,270/2025), with exceptions and transition rules set out in the law. How and when profits are distributed to partners abroad is part of the tax planning and is defined before the first distribution.

1. Business model. We review what you sell, where the products come from, which channels you will use and where inventory will be kept.
2. Partner firms and representation. We introduce the partners your case needs: immigration lawyers for the CPF and other documents, corporate lawyers, and coworking spaces for the fiscal address. The attorney-in-fact is assessed case by case.
3. Structure and tax regime. Activity codes (CNAE), share capital and a Lucro Presumido or Lucro Real comparison, for the partners' decision.
4. Registration. CNPJ, State Registration and the setup to issue NF-e.
5. Products and logistics. Tax classification and settings for each product in your ERP or store platform and, when you import or outsource logistics, introductions to partner customs brokers and fulfillment companies.
6. Monthly accounting. Bookkeeping, taxes, invoices by channel and reconciliation of marketplace payouts.

Government fees and third-party costs, such as lawyers, customs brokers, fulfillment companies, coworking spaces and digital certificates, are separate from Escalei's fees. See the FAQ in English for how our fees work.