Shopping
Paraguay customs: what you can bring back
Paraguay puts no ceiling on what you buy. The ceiling belongs to the country you return to, and it changes with how you leave: USD 500 crossing by land into Brazil, USD 300 by land into Argentina, and more by air.
The short answer
Almost everything written about a “Paraguay shopping limit” is looking in the wrong place. Paraguay does not limit your purchases. The limit is a customs allowance, it belongs to the country you cross into, and it is lower by road than by air in both of the countries this border touches.
| Into Brazil by land | USD 500 per person. This is the Friendship Bridge figure, and the one most shoppers need |
| Into Brazil by air | USD 1,000 per person, plus USD 1,000 in the arrivals duty free shop |
| Into Argentina by land | USD 300 per person |
| Into Argentina by air | USD 500 per person, plus USD 500 in the arrivals duty free shop |
| How often | Once a month in Argentina, once every 30 days in Brazil. It renews by period, not by trip |
| Can a family pool it? | No. Both countries state the allowance is individual and cannot be combined, not even between relatives |
| Over the limit | The excess is taxed at 50% in both countries. Declare it and that is the end of it |
| Going home further afield | Your own country sets your allowance. We do not publish figures for borders we do not cross |
The allowance is not Paraguayan
Most people arrive at this question with the wrong noun. There is no “Paraguay shopping allowance”. Paraguay does not cap what you buy in Ciudad del Este or in Encarnación, and no shopkeeper there is going to stop you. What exists is a limit on bringing those purchases into another country, and it is that other country that sets it.
That changes where you should be looking. Not at the shop counter, not at the queue on the bridge. The rule that will apply to you is the one for the way you go home. For Brazil it is published in the Receita Federal traveller guide on gov.br; for Argentina it is on argentina.gob.ar, in the plain-language “Viajes al exterior – Equipaje” page. We checked both on 27 September 2026, and every figure in this article comes from them.
The headline is short. Entering Brazil by land, river or lake, the allowance is USD 500 per person; by air or sea it is USD 1,000. Entering Argentina by land or river it is USD 300 per person; by air or sea it is USD 500, plus another USD 500 in the arrivals duty free shop.
There is a second rule that catches people out more often than the first: the allowance renews by period, not by trip. In Brazil it renews every 30 days and in Argentina it can be used once a month. If you crossed a fortnight ago and used it, you do not have it again today.
The allowance, country by country
Official figures from the Receita Federal of Brazil and from argentina.gob.ar, both checked on 27 September 2026.
| Where you are going | Route | Allowance | How often |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | Land, river or lake | USD 500 per person | Every 30 days |
| Brazil | Air or sea | USD 1,000 per person | Every 30 days |
| Brazil | Airport arrivals duty free | A further USD 1,000 per trip | Per trip |
| Argentina | Land or river | USD 300 per person | Once a month |
| Argentina | Air or sea | USD 500, plus USD 500 in the arrivals duty free shop | Once a month |
| Argentina | Land arrivals duty free | No allowance, except Puerto Iguazú, where it is USD 500 | |
| Paraguay (on entry) | Any | Check the Dirección Nacional de Aduanas | |
| Anywhere else | Any | Your own customs service sets it |
The Argentine page carries no visible last-updated date; we checked it on 27 September 2026. The Brazilian figures come from the Receita Federal guide section on exemptions, quotas and quantitative limits.
The last two rows are deliberate. The allowance for bringing goods into Paraguay is set by the Paraguayan customs service and we could not find it clearly published at source: the numbers circulating online come from blogs, not from the authority. And if you fly home to Europe, North America or anywhere else, your allowance is your own country’s business and we are not going to guess at it.
What counts against the allowance and what does not
The line between “goods” and “personal effects” decides the whole calculation, and it is where most travellers get it wrong.
Counts against the allowance
- Anything you bought to take home: electronics, perfume, new clothing, toys, tools.
- Gifts, even when they are for somebody else.
- New products, boxed and tagged.
- Alcohol and tobacco, which also carry quantity limits of their own.
- Anything whose value you cannot evidence: with no receipt, the officer assigns a value.
Does not count
- The clothes you are wearing and the ones you packed for the trip.
- Your phone, laptop and camera, if they were already yours before you travelled.
- Books and periodicals.
- Used personal items, in a quantity consistent with the trip you are making, that is close to the wording Brazil uses.
- The suitcase itself.
The operative phrase is “consistent with the trip”. One phone in your hand does not count. Five identical phones in boxes do, and they count as merchandise rather than baggage, because nobody uses five identical handsets over a weekend.
Keep the receipts. Without evidence of value the officer will put a figure on the item, and that figure is rarely what you paid. It is why we labour the point in our guide to shopping in Ciudad del Este.
Quantity limits, which sit alongside the value
Some goods carry a unit limit on top of the dollar allowance. These are the figures Brazil publishes for entry into the country.
| Item | Limit | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Alcoholic drinks | 12 litres in total | The total is combined, not per type of drink |
| Cigarettes | 10 packs of 20 units each | 200 cigarettes in total |
| Cigars | 25 units in total | |
| Alcohol and tobacco, under 18 | None | Under-18s may not buy or carry either, even when accompanied |
| Cash | Above USD 10,000 must be declared | Not prohibited: declaring it is mandatory |
Limits published by the Receita Federal of Brazil, checked on gov.br on 27 September 2026. They are quantity limits and they coexist with the dollar allowance: you can be under the value and still over the unit limit.
What actually happens if you go over
Going over the allowance is not a crime and it is not a disaster. It is a tax. In both countries the excess is charged at 50% of whatever exceeds the allowance. Cross into Brazil by land with USD 700 of purchases and the USD 200 above the USD 500 line is taxed at 50%, so USD 100. Cross into Argentina by land with USD 500 and the USD 200 above USD 300 works the same way.
On the Brazilian side there is a calculation detail worth knowing: the exchange rate used is the one in force on the date you transmit the electronic traveller goods declaration, the e-DBV, not the date you bought the item. If the dollar moves between purchase and return, that is where you feel it.
What changes everything is whether you declare. Declare and pay, and the matter ends there. Walk through the “Nothing to Declare” channel carrying goods that should have been declared and Brazil treats it as a false declaration: on top of the tax there is a fine equal to 50% of the value exceeding the exemption limit for the route used, and you lose the benefit of voluntary payment.
Put plainly, the choice is not between paying and not paying. It is between paying the tax and paying the tax plus a fine of roughly the same size, with the goods held while that is resolved. It is not worth it, and that is the only advice we have on the subject.
How to declare, step by step
For entry into Brazil the process is online, free and can be completed before you reach the border. It takes less time than the queue.
- 1
Add up what you bought
In dollars, with the receipts to hand. Count only what is new, leaving out your personal effects. If the per-person total sits below the allowance for your route, you have nothing to declare on value.
- 2
Open the e-DBV
At edbv.receita.fazenda.gov.br, the Receita Federal’s own portal. It is free and can be transmitted before you travel, from a phone or a computer.
- 3
List the goods
Item by item, with values. You also declare cash above USD 10,000 and anything under sanitary control or restriction.
- 4
Transmit it and keep the receipt
You get a receipt when you submit, which you can print or keep on your phone. That is what you present.
- 5
Issue and pay the DARF
If tax is due, the system generates the DARF payment form. The paid receipt goes with the declaration receipt.
- 6
Present everything at customs
Declaration receipt, ID, the declared goods and the paid DARF if there is one. The Receita estimates up to 15 minutes for the process.
Entering Argentina there is no equivalent public portal: the declaration is made at the border post itself. The underlying rule is the same and so is the advice, carry the receipts and declare the excess.
One practical note from drivers who run this route every week: if you have to file the Brazilian e-DBV, do it before you join the bridge queue. Mobile coverage on the Friendship Bridge is what it is.
When it makes sense to call us, and when it does not
We are a transport company, not a customs broker. It is worth being explicit about what we do and what we will not do.
Worth calling us
- You are coming from Asunción to shop: 327 km and 4 h 30 min to 5 h each way, no border crossing, in a private vehicle with room for the bags on the way back.
- You are going from Ciudad del Este to Foz do Iguaçu with luggage and shopping: around 20 km and 30 minutes to an hour depending on the queue.
- You want the car at your disposal for the shopping day, with the bags in the boot rather than on your shoulder.
- You are a group and need a minivan or a Sprinter at a fixed price per vehicle.
Not worth it
- You are already in Foz and walking across for an afternoon: you do not need a transfer for that, and we will say so.
- You want us to move the goods across the border in our name: we do not do that, under any circumstances.
- You want advice on splitting a purchase to avoid tax: the allowance is individual and non-transferable, and we are not going to explain how to get around it.
- You want a guarantee that you will not be inspected: nobody can give you that.
What we do is narrow and it is what makes the day work: the vehicle, a driver who knows the border procedure, room for the load on the way back, and a fixed price agreed before you get in.
The routes we run, with distances and prices
Prices are per vehicle rather than per passenger, in force since August 2026, with fuel, tolls and driver included.
| Leg | Distance | Time | Sedan (one way / return) | Minivan (one way / return) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asunción – Ciudad del Este | 327 km | 4 h 30 min to 5 h | USD 347 / USD 539 | USD 397 / USD 672 |
| Asunción – Foz do Iguaçu | 340 km | 5 to 6 h with the border | USD 417 / USD 707 | USD 497 / USD 847 |
| Asunción – Encarnación | 370 km | 5 to 5 h 30 min | USD 417 / USD 707 | USD 497 / USD 847 |
| Ciudad del Este – Foz do Iguaçu | around 20 km | 30 min to 1 h with the queue | on request | on request |
| Driver at your disposal | up to 8 h | USD 197 | USD 197 |
The sedan takes 1 to 3 passengers and three suitcases; the Hyundai H1 minivan takes up to 7 with one suitcase each; the Mercedes Sprinter takes 8 to 14 and costs USD 858 to Ciudad del Este, USD 892 to Foz do Iguaçu and USD 970 to Encarnación. An extra suitcase is USD 10, or USD 5 on airport runs. Half a day with the driver at your disposal, up to four hours, is USD 127.
If your day is shop and return, the long leg is the one covered by our Ciudad del Este to Asuncion transfer, and it is worth reading the distance from Asuncion to Ciudad del Este first to see what the day really costs in hours. For the short hop, the crossing itself is covered in our guide to the Paraguay–Brazil border and the Friendship Bridge.
Where to check the figure on the day you travel
Everything here was checked on 27 September 2026 against the official sources. Allowances change by decree, and our opinion is worth nothing against the published text. So on the day you travel, check it yourself.
For Brazil: gov.br/receitafederal, under Customs and Foreign Trade, International Travel, Traveller Guide, where the allowance, the quantity limits and the tax calculation all sit. For Argentina: argentina.gob.ar, Ley simple, “Viajes al exterior – Equipaje”. For bringing goods into Paraguay: aduana.gov.py and the legal digest at digesto.aduana.gov.py.
If you are flying home somewhere else entirely, your own customs service is the authority and we deliberately publish nothing about it. A traveller who arrives at their own border with a figure they read on a Paraguayan transfer company’s blog is worse off than one who arrives knowing where to look.
The same logic applies to everything that is not ours. We do not publish product prices, the exchange rate of the day, or bus and airline fares. What we set is the price of the transport, and that is in the table above.
Questions we get on WhatsApp
These are the real questions, in the order they arrive. The allowance answers come from the Receita Federal and argentina.gob.ar, both checked on 27 September 2026.
What is the shopping allowance in Paraguay?
There is no Paraguayan allowance. The limit is set by the country you return to. Entering Brazil by land it is USD 500 per person and by air USD 1,000. Entering Argentina by land it is USD 300 per person, and by air USD 500 plus USD 500 in the arrivals duty free shop.
Is the allowance per person or per family?
Per person, and it cannot be transferred. Both countries state that the exemption is individual and that allowances cannot be added together, not even between relatives. Four people crossing together have four allowances, but none of them can cover a single expensive item.
How often can I use it?
Once a month in Argentina and once every 30 days in Brazil. It is not per trip. If you crossed two weeks ago and used it, you do not have it again today.
What happens if I go over?
The excess is taxed at 50% in both countries. In Brazil the exchange rate used is the one in force on the day you transmit the e-DBV, not the day of purchase. Declare it and pay, and the matter is closed.
What if I do not declare it?
In Brazil, going through the Nothing to Declare channel with goods that should have been declared is treated as a false declaration: there is a fine equal to 50% of the value exceeding the exemption limit for the route used, on top of the tax, and you lose the benefit of voluntary payment.
Do my phone and laptop count?
Not if they were already yours before the trip. Used personal effects, in a quantity consistent with the journey, do not count against the allowance. What counts is the new, boxed device you bought there.
How much alcohol and tobacco can I bring?
For entry into Brazil the Receita Federal publishes 12 litres of alcoholic drinks in total, 10 packs of cigarettes of 20 units each, and 25 cigars. Under-18s may not buy or carry alcohol or tobacco even when accompanied. These are quantity limits and they sit on top of the value allowance.
Do I need to keep the receipts?
Yes, and it is the single most useful line in this article. Without evidence of value the officer assigns a price to the item, and it is rarely what you paid. Ask for an invoice on every purchase, we go into it in shopping in Ciudad del Este.
How do I file the Brazilian e-DBV?
At edbv.receita.fazenda.gov.br, free of charge and transmittable before you travel. You list the goods, submit, keep the receipt, issue and pay the DARF if tax is due, and present everything at customs with your ID. The Receita estimates up to 15 minutes at the counter.
What about the duty free shop at Puerto Iguazú?
According to argentina.gob.ar there is no allowance at arrivals duty free shops on land entries into Argentina, with the single exception of Puerto Iguazú, where it is USD 500. That is the only exception the page lists.
What is the allowance for bringing goods into Paraguay?
We do not publish a figure. It is set by the Dirección Nacional de Aduanas del Paraguay and we could not find it clearly published at source; the numbers circulating online come from blogs. Check aduana.gov.py and the digest at digesto.aduana.gov.py before you travel.
I am flying home to Europe or the United States. What is my limit?
Your own customs service sets it, and we do not publish figures for borders we do not cross. We can tell you accurately what happens at the Brazilian and Argentine land borders because our drivers work them every day. For your home country, check your own customs website before you buy.
Will you take the shopping across the border for us?
No, under any circumstances. We are a transport company, not a customs broker. We carry you and your luggage; the declaration is yours and so is responsibility for the goods.
Will it all fit in the car on the way back?
It depends on the volume. The sedan takes 1 to 3 passengers with three suitcases, the Hyundai H1 minivan up to 7 with one suitcase each, and the Sprinter 8 to 14. An extra suitcase is USD 10, or USD 5 on airport runs. Tell us in advance if it is a lot of bulk and we will send the right vehicle.
How do I book and how do I pay?
With a 30% deposit to hold the date, USD 100 if the total is under USD 300 and USD 150 if it is USD 300 or more, and the balance the day before. We quote in US dollars and also take guaraníes, Brazilian reais and Argentine pesos. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours ahead.
The figure belongs to your border, and the rest is logistics
Add up the purchases in dollars, check the allowance for the way you are leaving, stay under it or declare the difference, and keep the receipts. The transport is our part: tell us where you start, how many of you there are and the date, and we come back with the right vehicle and a fixed price.
The allowances and limits in this article come from the Receita Federal of Brazil (gov.br/receitafederal, Traveller Guide) and from argentina.gob.ar (Ley simple, Viajes al exterior – Equipaje), both checked on 27 September 2026. They are not set by us and can change by decree at any time: check them at source on the day you travel. Our prices are per vehicle in US dollars, in force since August 2026, with fuel, tolls and driver included.