For commercial airline travelers, 20 to 23 kilograms (about 71 pounds) of checked luggage and 5 kilograms (about 11 pounds) for carry-on luggage is the limit. If a person exceeds the weight limit, he can divide his luggage into more than one bag or pay an additional fee of 0.5 percent of the airfare for each kilogram over the limit. The airline scales differ in different regions. For example, when traveling from a more humid region to a more arid one, travelers must keep in mind that extra humidity will slightly weigh down luggage and clothing.
There is a very long and involved process for importing goods to Brazil for resale or simply conducting business of any kind. At the beginning of the process is the import license and declaration. All businesses must have their goods weighed and pay the import taxes which can vary from 40 to 50 Brazilian Reais depending on the amount of goods imported. Weight restrictions vary depending on the method of importation, whether it's freight (less expensive) or air (most expensive). For example, to ship a 100 pound box via air from Denver, Colorado, to Sao Paulo costs about $1,600 (U.S. dollars).
All importers have to register with the foreign trade secretariat and explain the type of goods they will be importing into Brazil to secure a license to import. There are two types of licenses importers can acquire, an automatic license for most imports and a non-automatic license. The later is for items that aren't necessarily heavy themselves, but might be enclosed in a heavy container, such as those for the Ministry of Science and Technology or Institute of Environment. There are a myriad of rules and regulations for importing excessively heavy items, such as cars and heavy machinery, that differ on a case by case basis.
Restrictions for leaving Brazil are much less strict. Different airlines have the same requirements because they have to take fuel regulations into account. If an item is worth less than $500 (U.S. dollars), a traveler can pay import/export fees when picking up the item at the post office. It will be weighed and you'll be charged a fee commensurate with the method of transport. In general, there is such a vast amount of different items that could be imported to or exported from Brazil that the weight calculated only determines a fraction of the total import/export cost. Duty fees, taxation and method of transport fees are also part of determining the import requirements for weight scales in Brazil.
