Importing From India to Brazil

Brazil bought US$7.02 billion of Indian goods in FY2025-26, which made it India's fifteenth-largest export market, ahead of New Zealand, Malaysia and Belgium (PIB, 15 April 2026 (opens in a new tab), our computation). That's a real trade, and almost none of it rides on a trade agreement. The India-MERCOSUR PTA covers a few hundred lines, and Brazil accounts for most of India's trade with the bloc.

So this page skips the agreement, which is on the MERCOSUR page, and covers what's specific to Brazil - the licence you need before you import at all, the taxes that stack at the border, and one date to watch on the certificate. The caveat is that we haven't read Brazil's tax rates for any line, and we say so below rather than guess.

Last researched 28 September 2026 · Next review 24 November 2026 · Written by SourcingFrom

The decision in brief is in the playbook: Exporting and trade → /india/#trade.

1. Get Your Radar Before You Place the Order

A Brazilian company can't file an import declaration until the Receita Federal has enabled it on Siscomex, the process everyone calls "Radar" (Receita Federal, Siscomex enablement manual (opens in a new tab)). The manual sets out an express modality and limited and unlimited modalities for companies, and which one you get decides how much you can import in a period. Brazilian trade advisers put the express ceiling at US$50,000 per six months (Fazcomex (opens in a new tab)), which we couldn't confirm on the Receita's own pages.

Here's why this matters with India specifically. Indian suppliers are used to buyers in the UAE or the UK who can import the day after they pay. A first Brazilian order where the buyer is still waiting on Radar leaves goods sitting at Santos, and demurrage runs in your currency, not the supplier's. Get the enablement, and check that its ceiling covers the order, before you send the deposit.

2. The Tax Stack Is Bigger Than the Duty

Brazil collects federal import duty and IPI, the PIS and COFINS contributions and the state ICMS at the border, and each can sit on a base that includes the one before. We haven't read the rates for any line, so we won't publish a number. What we can say is that for most Indian goods the duty is not the biggest part of the bill, which is why a PTA margin on the duty alone rarely changes whether an Indian product makes sense in Brazil. Ask your despachante for the full landed stack on your NCM code before you compare India against another origin. Brazil's tax reform is phasing in new consumption taxes, so ask for the stack as it applies on your arrival date.

3. The Certificate, and One Date to Watch

If your line is on MERCOSUR's offer list, the preference needs a certificate from an Indian agency. The protocol signed on 14 September 2026 gives electronic certificates the same legal value as paper, but it only takes effect after India and MERCOSUR each complete their internal procedures and notify each other (Outlook Business, September 2026 (opens in a new tab)). Until then, ask for the paper original to travel with the documents, and don't accept "it's all electronic now" from a supplier.

No carrier schedule we read in September 2026 listed a Brazilian port from India, so expect a transhipment and ask the forwarder to name the hub. Customs is the Receita Federal (opens in a new tab), and Santos is the main container port.

Next Step

The shared agreement rules are on the MERCOSUR page, and every agreement's status is on India's trade agreements. Checking the supplier, getting the certificate right and booking the sailing from the Indian end is detailed work, and SourcingSync (opens in a new tab) can take it off your hands.