A provisional measure published on Wednesday sets the rates of the “sin tax”, which starts being collected on February 2
Brazil's government published on Wednesday night (November 4), in a special edition of the Official Gazette, Provisional Measure 1,399, which sets the rates of the Selective Tax for 2027. Created by the tax reform and nicknamed the “sin tax”, it applies to products considered harmful to health, such as alcoholic drinks, sugary drinks and cigarettes, and replaces the IPI federal excise tax on beverages. Collection starts on February 2, according to Guia da Cerveja.
The date came after the government missed the deadline to start on January 1: the Constitution requires 90 days between a tax's publication and its collection. To cover January, the government also sent Congress on Wednesday a constitutional amendment proposal that extends the IPI until the new tax takes effect.
Beer will pay 4.2%; wines, 8% (except Port, Madeira and Sherry); cachaça and other sugarcane spirits, 20%; and whisky and other spirits, 24%, according to Poder360. Soft drinks and other sugary drinks will pay 2.6%.
For beer, the rate rises from 3.9% to 4.2%, but the tax burden stays the same, according to Guia da Cerveja. The difference lies in the tax base: the IPI base includes the ICMS, PIS and Cofins taxes, while the Selective Tax base does not. On a smaller amount, the percentage must be higher for the charge to stay the same. The measure reaches 4.2% by multiplying the IPI rate by a conversion factor of 1.07, which a decree may reduce to 1. On imports, the base is the customs value plus import duty, and the rate is multiplied by a factor of 1.45; for imported beer, the result is around 6.1%, by Guia da Cerveja's calculation.
The measure creates lower rates for small producers, one of the main requests of the Brazilian Craft Beer Association (Abracerva). Size is measured in liters of pure alcohol supplied in the previous year: up to 50,000 liters, the rate falls 40%; from 50,000 to 125,000, 20%; and from 125,000 to 250,000, 10%. The benefit applies to breweries, wineries, liqueur makers, distilleries and cooperatives of small producers. For a 5% beer, 50,000 liters of alcohol equal 1 million liters of beer, according to Guia da Cerveja.
The Selective Tax on alcoholic drinks was designed in two parts: a percentage of the price and an amount in reais based on alcohol content. The measure sets the second part to zero until December 31, 2027, the same date until which the small-producer discount applies. The rules from 2028 onward depend on a bill the government must send by May 31, 2027. The measure already has the force of law, but must be approved by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate within 60 days, extendable for another 60.
Bebidário's catalog includes beers, wines, cachaças and whiskies in all these brackets, from Brahma Chopp to Ypióca Prata.
Sources: Guia da Cerveja (November 5, 2026), Poder360 (November 5, 2026).
