Database

As per Brazil's General Telecommunications Law, telecommunications operators pay an annual fee for spectrum licences. This is reported to amount to about 2% of their net revenues from the previous year.

It is reported that, on average, broadband and wireless are taxed 3% more than other services.

Video On Demand (VOD) is subject to a special contribution under the CONDECINE scheme (Contribution to the Development of the National Film Industry). The fee is due at a fixed amount once in five years. Under the CONDECINE scheme, each movie must pay 3,000 reales (approx. USD 1,258), while each episode of any TV series must pay 750 reales (approx. USD 314). This was reported as a barrier by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) on the 2015 Special Report on Brazil. This fee/tax is considered to be burdensome for the online content market.

Given internal regulations, Brazil has a situation for which the tax on online sales is possibly being paid twice.

The Brazilian tax system is reported to be very complex and burdensome in general and even more so for some foreign digital products. There are over 300 different tax categories for goods and services and taxes in various states differ.

It is reported that some Brazilian products have a tax advantage of around 50% over their imported counterparts, forcing companies to produce PCs locally. For instance, VAT rates apply differently. There is a 15% VAT on finished imported PCs, while locally produced PCs are subject to 0.75%. Another example is that there is an airport fee (50% in storage and handling fee) for laptops.

Furthermore, Brazil offers a 95% reduction on the VAT to PCs and tablets produced in accordance with the Basic Production Process (PPB), which requires that certain components be acquired from local manufacturers.

Certain measures concerning goods produced in Free Trade Zones, taxation and charges in the electronics and technology industry as well as tax advantages for exporters in Brazil are also currently being challenged at the Panel’s stage at the WTO.

It is reported that Brazil applies a tax to the transfer of technology — the social economic interference contribution (CIDS) — that imposes an additional 10% surcharge on many technology remittances.

It is reported that, on average, taxes on ICT consumer products is 9% higher than on other products.

In Brazil, several taxes are levied on revenues from mobile services and handsets and a tax on the sales of SIM cards is applied leading to a high tax burden for suppliers of these products/services. They are reported as a trade restriction.

The amount of the duty is USD 501.42 per metric ton. Exports of the company Pacwire AB are subject to a duty of USD 245.41 per metric ton.

A duty of 2.35 USD per kilogram is applied to all Chinese exporters.

Online gambling remains a debated issue from a competition point of view. In 2010, the EU Court of Justice acknowledged the right of the EU States to ban the online provision of gambling services under certain conditions. As a result, online gambling regulations are different in each EU country.

The Tobacco Advertising Directive (2003/33/EC) established an EU-wide ban on cross-border tobacco advertising and sponsorship in the media other than television.

Only a natural people, company or organisation residing or established in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway can register a .eu domain name.

The European de minimis threshold for import duties is harmonized. Goods with a value of up to 128 SDR / 150 EUR / 186 USD are exempted from customs duties. On the other hand, the VAT de minimis threshold is not harmonized within the EU and can vary between 10 and 22 EUR, i.e. Member States can decide on a value within this range to grant an exemption on VAT for imported goods.