REPETRO — special customs regime for oil and gas (REPETRO-SPED)
The REPETRO is the special customs and tax regime that suspends federal taxes on the import and acquisition of goods intended for the exploration, development and production (E&P) of oil and natural gas — a suspension that converts into exemption and zero rate once the good is destined to those activities. In its current form it is called REPETRO-SPED and is governed by Law 13.586/2017 (conversion of Provisional Measure 795/2017), by Decree 9.128/2017 and by RFB Normative Instruction 1.781/2017, with a term of use until 12/31/2040.
What it is and what it is for
The REPETRO is, at the same time, a special customs regime and a special tax regime of economic use of goods intended for the activities of exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas. Its logic is economic: the benefit exists because the good serves the E&P activity — platforms, rigs, vessels, subsea equipment, tooling —, not because of the quality of the company that imports it. Instead of taxing the entry of the good and then arguing over credit, the regime suspends the federal taxes and, once the destination is met, converts the suspension into a definitive benefit.
When one speaks of “Repetro” today, one speaks of the REPETRO-SPED. The original regime was instituted by Decree 3.161/1999 and consolidated in the Customs Regulation (Decree 6.759/2009); that classic model admits no new admissions (a deadline of 12/31/2020 for the goods not migrated). The REPETRO-SPED was born of the 2017 normative package — Provisional Measure 795/2017 converted into Law 13.586/2017, with Decree 9.128/2017 and RFB Normative Instruction 1.781/2017 —, reorganizing the regime around the economic use of the goods and the digital tax bookkeeping (SPED), from which the name comes. The admission of the goods today is made through the DUIMP, under RFB Normative Instruction 2.226/2024 (art. 39-A).
The modalities and the suspended taxes
The REPETRO-SPED consolidates four modalities (RFB Normative Instruction 1.781/2017, art. 2): Repetro-Permanent (definitive import with total suspension), Repetro-Temporary without payment (temporary admission with total suspension), Repetro-Temporary with payment (proportional to the time of stay) and Repetro-National (acquisition, on the domestic market, of the final product industrialized under the regime). On the definitive import, the goods enter with suspension of II, IPI, PIS/Pasep-Import and Cofins-Import; once the five-year term from the registration of the import declaration is met, with the destination to E&P activity, the suspension converts into exemption of II/IPI and a zero rate of PIS/Pasep and Cofins.
Onto this federal framework is added the state layer of the ICMS: the ICMS Agreement 03/2018 (CONFAZ) authorizes the States to exempt the ICMS on temporary goods and to reduce the calculation base of permanent goods to an effective burden of 3% without credit. As it is an authorizing agreement, each State internalizes it by its own rule — in Rio de Janeiro, the rule in force is Law 8.890/2020, which revoked Decree 46.233/2018. There is also the REPETRO-Industrialization (art. 6 of Law 13.586/2017, Decree 9.537/2018 and RFB Normative Instruction 1.901/2019), which relieves the domestic manufacturer of inputs for the sector — a complementary link of the same chain.
The term until 2040 and the Tax Reform
The REPETRO-SPED may be used until December 31, 2040 — a term already in force (Law 13.586/2017; Decree 9.128/2017; art. 2, §6 of RFB Normative Instruction 1.781/2017), and not a pending extension. The accreditation of the legal entity is formalized by an Executive Declaratory Act (ADE), in a full or partial modality, also valid until 2040.
The Tax Reform does not end the regime: Complementary Law 214/2025 created, in art. 93, a new customs regime for oil and gas under IBS and CBS — a suspension converted into a zero rate after destination, with the same 2040 horizon. During the transition, the classic REPETRO-SPED (II/IPI/PIS/Cofins) coexists with the new IBS/CBS regime. The complete guide — modalities, taxes by modality, step-by-step accreditation, the 3% ICMS, the Repetro-Industrialization and the Reform transition — is in the cluster REPETRO-SPED: the customs regime for oil and gas.
Frequently asked questions about REPETRO
What is the Repetro regime?
The REPETRO is the special customs and tax regime that suspends federal taxes on the import and acquisition of goods intended for the exploration, development and production (E&P) of oil and natural gas, converting the suspension into exemption and zero rate when the good is destined to those activities. In its current form it is called REPETRO-SPED and is governed by Law 13.586/2017 (conversion of Provisional Measure 795/2017), by Decree 9.128/2017 and by RFB Normative Instruction 1.781/2017, with a term until 12/31/2040.
Which taxes does the REPETRO suspend?
On the definitive import, the regime suspends the Import Tax (II), the IPI, the Contribution to PIS/Pasep-Import and the Cofins-Import; once the five-year term from the registration of the import declaration is met, with the destination to E&P activity, the suspension becomes exemption of II/IPI and a zero rate of PIS/Pasep and Cofins. At the state level, the ICMS is relieved by ICMS Agreement 03/2018 (exemption on temporary goods; a 3% burden on permanent ones), depending on internalization by each State.
Until when is the REPETRO valid?
The REPETRO-SPED may be granted and applied until December 31, 2040 — a term already in force, set by Law 13.586/2017, by Decree 9.128/2017 and by RFB Normative Instruction 1.781/2017, and not a pending extension. The same 2040 horizon was confirmed for the new IBS/CBS regime created by art. 93 of Complementary Law 214/2025 in the Tax Reform.