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Drawback: the regime that relieves exports

Suspension, exemption and refund of taxes on inputs of exported products. See the modalities, the requirements and what changes with the tax reform.

What Drawback is

Drawback is a special customs regime that suspends, exempts or refunds the taxes on inputs (imported or bought on the domestic market) used to manufacture products destined for export. It works as an export incentive: it relieves the production chain so the domestic product reaches foreign markets more competitively. It is administered jointly by Secex/MDIC, in the suspension and exemption modalities, and by the Federal Revenue Service, in the refund modality.

Legal basis: Decree-Law No. 37/1966 (art. 78), Law No. 11,945/2009 (art. 12), Law No. 12,350/2010 (art. 31), the Customs Regulation (Decree No. 6,759/2009, arts. 383 to 403) and Joint Ordinance SECINT/RFB No. 76/2022.

Drawback modalities

Three modalities, applied according to the timing and purpose of the operation.

ModalityWhat it doesWhen to use it
SuspensionSuspends taxes on the purchase of inputs that will be manufactured and exported. Once the export commitment is met, the suspension becomes a definitive relief.Before production and export. It is the most used modality.
ExemptionExempts taxes on the purchase of an input equivalent to one already used in a previously exported product, to replenish stock.After the export has already taken place.
RefundRefunds, in whole or in part, taxes paid on the import of an input used in an already exported product.Rarely used, and today practically discontinued.

Integrated Drawback

Integrated Drawback handles, in one concession act, both imported inputs and those bought on the domestic market, with the same relief treatment. Integrated Drawback Suspension came from Law No. 11,945/2009 (art. 12) and Integrated Drawback Exemption from Law No. 12,350/2010 (art. 31).

Which taxes Drawback covers

In the suspension modality, the regime covers the Import Duty (II), the IPI, the PIS/Pasep contribution, Cofins (including on imports) and the AFRMM. The effect is suspension, exemption or reduction to zero, according to the rule for each tax. There is no single percentage. ICMS may be relieved, but that depends on each state's legislation and on a CONFAZ agreement, with no automatic or uniform rule across the country.

What changes with the tax reform

Complementary Law No. 214/2025 keeps Drawback Suspension for the new taxes. Art. 90 preserves the suspension of IBS and CBS on acquisitions made under the regime. Art. 91 states that the exemption and refund modalities do not apply to IBS and CBS. In practice, under the new system, prior registration in the suspension modality becomes the only way to keep IBS and CBS relief.

See the guide to the tax reform on imports

How Drawback works in practice

From the concession act to proof of export.

  1. Enable the company

    Enable the company to operate in foreign trade on the Portal Único Siscomex (Radar) and check the tax compliance the regime requires.

  2. Register the Concession Act

    Register the Concession Act in the Portal Único Drawback module, with inputs, the product to be exported, quantities and term. In the suspension modality the term is up to one year, renewable once for an equal period, and reaches up to five years for long-cycle capital goods.

  3. Acquire inputs with suspension

    Import or buy inputs on the domestic market with taxes suspended, in the case of Integrated Drawback.

  4. Manufacture and export

    Manufacture the product according to the Concession Act and carry out the export, recorded in a DU-E, to meet the commitment made.

  5. Prove and close the Act

    Link the inputs (DI or NF-e) to the exported products (DU-E) and provide proof on Siscomex, closing the regime. If the commitment is not met, the suspended taxes are charged with surcharges.

Frequently asked questions about Drawback

Official sources

Content based on current legislation and official sources of Brazilian foreign trade.

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