The Brazilian consumption tax reform has created a modern and digital VAT, comprising a contribution on goods and services (CBS) and a tax on goods and services (IBS), to be levied on transactions involving goods, services, and rights, whether domestic or imported.
Due to the modern relevance of technology and ever-growing e-commerce, the recently enacted Supplementary Law 214/2025 grants prominence to digital platforms, providing for specific regulations regarding tax liabilities and reports, and assisting in CBS and IBS compliance and collection.
CBS and IBS taxpayers and liable parties
Firstly, it should be noted that the CBS and IBS taxpayer (i.e., the main person liable for the tax) is the supplier of goods and services in the course of economic activity, whether habitually or in a volume that characterises such activity.
Also, on the importation of goods and services, the taxpayer is the importer, and the foreign supplier of services is jointly liable with the importer. For goods, the foreign supplier is only jointly liable on imports under the simplified taxation regime for international postal shipping.
However, in the case of transactions carried out through digital platforms, both foreign and domestic, the digital platform may be legally liable for collecting CBS and IBS, as discussed below.
Digital platforms, tax liability, and compliance reporting
Supplementary Law 214/2025 determines that, for the purpose of tax liability and compliance reporting, digital platforms are those that act as intermediaries between suppliers and purchasers in transactions and imports carried out remotely or electronically, and control one or more of the following elements essential to the transaction:
Billing;
Payment;
Definition of terms and conditions; or
Delivery.
Furthermore, even though it defines “digital platforms” in view of its participation in the transaction, Supplementary Law 214/2025 also determines that an entity shall not be considered a digital platform for tax liability purposes if it performs only one of the following activities:
The provision of internet access;
Payment services provided by institutions authorised to operate by the Central Bank of Brazil;
Advertising; or
The search for or comparison of suppliers, provided that the service is not charged based on sales.
Thus, under the terms provided above, a digital platform may be:
Jointly liable with the purchaser or recipient and in place of the supplier, if the latter is resident or domiciled abroad; and
Jointly liable with the Brazilian supplier, if it is a CBS and IBS taxpayer and does not record the transaction in an electronic tax document.
Although the law provides for the tax liability of digital platforms, it also establishes obligations for reporting intermediated transactions, which, if complied with, may remove the tax liability. To this effect, the digital platform must:
Provide information on local transactions and imports of goods or services carried out through it, including identifying the supplier, even if it is not a CBS and IBS taxpayer; and
Present the necessary information for the segregation and collection of the CBS and IBS amounts due by the supplier in the financial settlement of the transaction (split payment) in the event that the payment process for the transaction or import is initiated by the digital platform.
If the digital platform complies with both these reporting obligations, it will not be liable for paying any differences between the amounts of CBS and IBS collected and those due in the transaction from the domestic supplier.
In the event that the supplier is resident or domiciled in Brazil and the payment process for the transaction is not initiated by the digital platform, the platform will not be liable for tax if it complies with the obligation to report the intermediated transactions and the supplier issues an electronic tax document for the value of the transaction carried out through the platform. In this case, the digital platform must keep track of the issuance of electronic tax documents by the supplier.
The digital platform, including those domiciled abroad, must register for CBS and IBS under the regular regime for compliance purposes. If the supplier or digital platform resident or domiciled abroad does not register for CBS and IBS, the taxes will be withheld and paid by the institution carrying out the currency exchange transaction.
Tax compliance assistance
Supplementary Law 214/2025 also establishes that the digital platform may assist the Brazilian supplier in complying with tax obligations. This includes the issuance of tax documents on behalf of the supplier and payment of CBS and IBS by the supplier on transactions carried out through it, maintaining the supplier’s liability for any differences.
Final remarks
Supplementary Law 214/2025 assigns digital platforms a leading role in tax compliance, either making them liable for collecting CBS and IBS or for reporting the intermediated transactions and even assisting the supplier with tax compliance.
Even though the regulations regarding digital platforms’ obligations are yet to be enacted, it is possible to foresee that such parties will have a crucial role in assisting with the inspection and collection of CBS and IBS, thus helping to ensure suppliers’ tax compliance and supporting tax inspections.
