Three points of the new foreign exchange law that can make a difference to individuals

On December 8, the Federal Senate approved a bill that changes the rules of the Brazilian foreign exchange market. The new legal framework aims to update exchange policies and facilitate foreign currency transactions.

After the parliamentary steps, to enter into force, the law now depends on the sanction of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL). After that, according to specialists, the Central Bank should regulate the matter, creating declaration and inspection rules.

To better understand what are the new proposals for the foreign exchange market, which has not undergone changes since 2004, the CNN Brasil Business spoke with Túlio Portela, commercial director of brokerage B&T Câmbio.

What changes with the new currency exchange law?

For individuals, there are three important points:

• New limit for cash: currently, when entering or leaving Brazil, travelers are exempt from declaring amounts of up to R$ 10 thousand. With the new law, this ceiling is now US$ 10 thousand (approximately R$ 56 thousand at the current rate of the dollar) or the equivalent in another currency.
• Trading between people: although this is a common practice, today, an individual cannot buy or sell foreign currency from another individual, only at banks or exchange offices. If sanctioned, the law will regulate this type of transaction with a limit of US$ 500 per time (approximately R$ 2,800).
• Opening accounts in foreign currency: the new legislation opens the way for financial institutions to directly offer the option of checking accounts in other currencies, such as the dollar and the euro. Today, Brazilian banks cannot operate this service unless they sign partnerships with other international banks.

Is new exchange limit a good proposal?

Considering the devaluation of the dollar, the current exchange rate ceiling for travel is outdated, so the increase is a positive point in the proposal, explains Tulio.

He considers that the new ceiling is higher than indicated – which could open loopholes for fraud or dollarization of the currency – but that Brazilian bodies have experience in curbing these problems.

How should I declare dollar amounts?

For those traveling now, the current rule with a limit of R$ 10 thousand per person is still valid.

All amounts above that must be reported to the Internal Revenue Service, through the Electronic Declaration of Goods for Travelers (e-DBV), available on the tax agency’s website.

If sanctioned by the president, the law provides that the same procedure will be necessary for amounts over $10,000.

Can dollar get cheaper?

With the possibility of buying foreign currency from another individual, the exchange of dollars and other currencies can be cheaper in this type of operation.

This is because, when purchased in exchange houses, the buyer must pay the spread – fee charged by the institution to offer the service – and the Financial Transactions Tax (IOF) of 1.1% for the purchase of cash.

It is important to note that each purchase and sale will be limited to US$500.

Can I have a dollar account?

Banks such as Nomad, C6 and BS2 already offer the option of having a foreign currency account for Brazilians, such as the dollar and the euro.

For this, according to the rules of the Central Bank, the accounts must be established outside Brazil, which means that these institutions close partnerships with banks from other countries.

Túlio explains that, with the new rule, new initiatives for foreign currency accounts should emerge, especially in the digital sphere, since Brazilian banks will not depend on international contracts to operate these accounts.

What are the benefits of these accounts?

There are two main advantages: exchange variation protection and a lower IOF rate.

Foreign currency accounts give account holders more protection against political and economic issues that change the dollar rate on a daily basis, while paying a fee of 1.1% per remittance, versus 6.8% for international purchases on the credit card. credit.