New form of taxation curbs purchases by ‘addicts’ on Asian websites By Estadão Conteúdo

2023-10-16 15:43:29

© Reuters New form of taxation curbs purchases by ‘addicts’ on Asian websites

“I didn’t sleep anymore”; “I bought more when I was depressed”; “When the orders arrived, I didn’t even remember that I had bought it.” These are phrases from people who say they are addicted to shopping on apps for products imported from China, such as Shein, Shopee and AliExpress.

“You start to see what it’s like, buy a cheap thing just to test it and it contaminates you”, says Marcelo Adolfo Marques Reiners, from Rio de Janeiro, an information technology professional, who admits that he was once addicted to shopping.

The high volume of purchases through these channels led the government to review the import rules for these platforms. First, it zeroed out the exemption of up to US$50 (around R$254) and then created Remessa Compliance. According to the rules, purchases up to this value are exempt. Above that, they will be taxed. In any case, for now, purchases are being withheld and taxes charged until companies are eligible for the new program.

This government back-and-forth on taxation helped to “control the addiction” of these consumers, who were on an unbridled pace of shopping. Cíntia Nayade Santos, owner of coworking spaces in São Paulo and Taboão da Serra, stopped sleeping by searching apps in search of offers. “You get distracted. There are games, like Candy Crush, and the more you play, the more discount coupons you get. And, in the early hours of the morning, there are special offers, which happen around midnight and around 3 am”, She says that she has gone three days in a row without sleeping.

Among the items she purchased, Cíntia mentions coffee maker capsule adapters, decoration items for events, absorbent panties and many clothes. “I also bought carrot soup in capsules to make in my own coffee maker”, she recalls, spending an average of R$1,000 every month on these purchases.

The clothes, he says, were what made his eyes shine the most. “They have a different style than the national ones. And they have L, XL, XL. Whatever size you need. In national stores, I can’t find the same style and variety of sizes”, she says. And everything arrived at home in a few weeks, without taxes, without stopping at the post office.

“These applications are adept at involving the consumer”, says Ricardo Pastore, coordinator of the retail center at the Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing (ESPM). “Selling for the sake of selling, everyone sells. But these companies create a different experience. They make shopping feel like a pastime, like a game. They launch challenges, like early morning shopping,” he explains.

TAXES

Through the federal government’s Remessa Conform, companies that join the program are exempt from tax for postal remittances between individuals of up to US$50. The first to join was AliExpress. Shopee and Shein adopted the system in mid-September. Therefore, anyone who made purchases on both apps before joining, in August, paid a 60% rate for any shipment, regardless of value, sent by a legal entity.

Even if the company has adhered to Remessa Conformo, many items are still held at customs until the Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS), which is state-based, is paid by the consumer, via the Correios website.

THIN MESH

Millions of products fell through the fine mesh of Chinese apps. In the first seven months of the year alone, according to the Federal Revenue Service, the volume of remittances sent to the country reached 123 million imported items. The IRS, however, has not yet counted how many items in August or September were retained for tax collection. Nor how many were rejected by those who ordered them.

All consumers said they were buying much less now. “I admit that I replaced binge eating with compulsive shopping on these apps. But now, with taxes, I put everything in the cart, but I forget it there, I don’t buy anything. I can say that I’m under control now”, celebrates Cíntia.

When contacted, Shopee, Shein and AliExpress did not comment on the drop in sales.

The information is from the newspaper The State of S. Paulo.