Does your company import beverages? Find out how to reduce your costs!
To start importing beverages, companies must be properly registered with the agency as facilities for importing beverages. In addition, it may require looking for solutions to reduce costs when importing beverages.
The demand of entrepreneurs for learning about the import of drinks and the offer of quality foreign products at competitive prices is increasing.
It is common knowledge that several taxes are levied on imports, so in foreign trade, not as a hypothesis or tax exemption regime, we can say that it is practically impossible not to be liable to pay taxes, mainly referring to Import Tax.
It is clear that we can see an increase in the consumption of alcoholic beverages and along with that there is a greater demand to import products with different tastes to satisfy different types of customers, since the Brazilian taste tends to always experiment and discover new tastes, as an audience open to novelty.
Beverages that are produced in large quantities, primarily intended for the domestic market, are characterized by relative homogeneity. However, income growth causes changes in consumer habits, which is reflected in the search for differentiation through the purchase of more sophisticated products among some customers. This process, which takes place in Brazil, leads to an increased demand for imported products.
Therefore, from this moment on, we will understand how the process of importing alcoholic beverages works and we will look for solutions to reduce costs in these businesses, in order to achieve a true competitive advantage for your company.
Sector of alcoholic beverages
The alcoholic beverages sector suffered a decline due to the pandemic. Bars, restaurants, shows and events had to close their activities for a long time because they were suspended for a while. However, the sales of drinks increased again and in a great way due to the parties and holidays that took place outside the season, such as the carnival in April, and the improvement of the situation with the pandemic in general.
The recovery of the sector had an increase of 5.2% in the beverage sector, data collected by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
The alcoholic beverage industry is constantly going through periods of transformation, in order to adapt to consumption trends and avoid global economic crises.
In the beer sales sector, the increase was 14.3% on Easter in April this year, according to the Brazilian Supermarket Association. Also, the number of factories grew by 6% compared to 2021 and 2020.
In this year 2022, the production will be higher than the production of the previous years. However, the profit will probably not be higher than in 2019, due to the increase in production costs. And beer prices can rise significantly, because probably pass on inflation in the final price to the consumer.
The wine market is showing good results, in 2020 the increase in sales was 18% compared to 2019. In a survey conducted by the Associação Brasileiras de Supermercados, it was shown that there was a 15.6% increase on Easter in April. this year.
According to Wine Intelligence, the number of wine lovers has grown from 22 million in 2010 to 39 million in 2020. Pretty impressive growth, right?
In the sector of strong alcoholic drinks, as an example we can take Gin, which has already had a great growth in sales in this sector, it is in great demand at parties, in bars and restaurants.
How to import drinks
It is important for an entrepreneur to know the steps and rules to do and follow in order to have excellence in the import process. The process starts with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply – MAPA.
Importation of alcoholic beverages must precisely follow procedural standards in order to be successful in its business. The beginning of everything is to find reliable suppliers so that the investment and effort to open market is valid, imported drinks are exempt from registration, but it is mandatory to include the registration of the importer’s facility on the back label.
The administrative points are the transfer of the import permit and the necessary documentation. Another issue that needs to be commented about the import of beverages is that to start the import process, it will be necessary for the importing company to register an import permit in the foreign trade systems – Siscomex.
All import operations involving food and beverages must have an import permit – LI, issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA).
The administrative points are shown by the Import Permit and the necessary documentation. According to the regulations, this refers to the registration of imported objects and products.
Register your company on MAPA
As stated, the import of beverages is regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply – MPUG, which establishes standardization, classification, inspection and inspection of the production and circulation of beverages. Therefore, the first step and understanding how to import drinks is the need for a company, be it a manufacturer, standardiser, bottler, wholesaler, exporter or importer, to register with MAPA as an importer of the particular drink you want.
Register the import permit
Another important detail is that in order to start the import process, the importing business entity needs to register an import permit in Foreign Trade Business Systems – Siscomex and then connect the electronic file to the Unique Foreign Trade Portal.
Ensure proper labeling and packaging
Once you understand and start entering this market, you need to consider factors such as the quality standard of the label and packaging. and other requirements for safe transportation.
All imported beverages must be labeled to convey information to the consumer. Labeling must follow the provisions of Chapter V of Regulation no. 6,871 from 2009 for beverages, these rules are defined by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply with the purpose of guaranteeing the quality of the product, its accurate identification, storage and packaging procedure.
Tax on drinks
Have you ever stopped and thought why you pay so much tax when you buy drinks?
In the scenario we live in, we have one of the highest tax rates in the world.
Below, it is possible to analyze the taxation of each type of drink:
(Image: Disclosure)
Taxes can vary depending on the government’s understanding of what is superfluous or essential.
Therefore, it is worth noting that the main reason for the high prices of delivered products is the state’s need to regulate consumption, but this is not the only reason.
How important is this sector?
First, do you know what the beverage sector is? The beverage industry is an important sector of the manufacturing industry, with revenues of R$137.0 billion in 2019, equivalent to 1.9% of Brazil’s GDP for that year and 4.8% of the gross value of production. (GDP proxy) of the manufacturing industry (ABIA, 2020).
According to Statista statistics, beer is one of the most consumed alcoholic beverages in the world, with an average of 400 billion liters per year, followed by wine, with 25 billion. One of the factors influencing the growth of the beer market is the global rise of craft production, mostly in the USA, which has 17% of the beer market. market shares craft beers.
Since 2010, the sector has been growing exponentially and, despite a slight decline caused by the pandemic in 2020, after the end of the isolation, it had a growth of 9% per year. In Brazil, the beverage industry employs more than 120,000 people in almost 3,000 companies.
How can a tax credit in Alagoas help you?
In these difficult times, import companies, distributors, retailers with physical stores or e-commerce need a competitive advantage over their competitors, based mainly on increasing profits and reducing costs, combined with quality products and service.
The state of Alagoas today offers the best and safest opportunity, in terms of offering companies in the country a clear competitive advantage in the market, through the settlement of ICMS debts with the use of court loans.
That is, the company receives a loan granted by a civil servant, whose debtor is the state of Alagoas, and can pay certain ICMS debts in full, without discounts, without bureaucracy and with complete security.
Because the state is taking a step forward not only to attract imports, but also to challenge the collection of ICMS on electronic sales, an issue that has been discussed mainly by the North-Eastern states.
The regulation allows payment of ICMS due on importation with court credits. ICMS tax can therefore be paid in full with court credits, as long as the rules of the rules are followed.
The company collects the entire tax, but using the legal (and completely constitutional) possibility to make this payment by offsetting it with court credits.
Remember that the granting of credit by the server to the acquiring company takes place through a certification process that is processed before PGE/AL and SEFAZ/AL, which confirm all the legality of the operation.
One more thing: in the Alagoas system, the existing logistics structure is maintained. In the case of importing goods from abroad, they can be unloaded in any port in the country (and not only in Alagoas!), without changing the logistics that the company already implements.
However, there are several advantages to importing using the Alagoas Tax Benefit, and the necessary technical procedures must be followed through a Tax Benefit company to ensure success and gain market leadership.
Therefore, the Alagoas tax credit is safe and can be easily applied to your business, it must be well planned and implemented, in addition, it operates within the legal framework, reducing the risks of importing.
