Consignment sale
Goods go to the customer’s site on a shipment NF-e and stay yours. When the customer sells them, a sales NF-e follows; what doesn’t sell comes back on a return NF-e.
NF-e: shipment · sale · returnPurchasing and Sales Processes in Brazil
Sales pricing can be complex anywhere. In Brazil the bigger effort is usually in purchasing and inventory, because the reason a material moves decides its taxes, its CFOP and its credits. Selling services as well as goods adds another layer.
Sales · SD
Six localized sales processes
Each one is a normal SAP flow with Brazilian documents added. The question to ask is always the same: how many notas fiscais, and who issues them?
Future delivery sale
The customer is billed first and the goods ship later, often in parts. One billing NF-e, then a delivery NF-e for each shipment, each carrying the taxes its rules assign to it.
NF-e: billing · one per deliveryTriangular sale (third party)
You buy from a supplier and sell to your customer, but the supplier ships straight to your customer. Three notas fiscais for one physical delivery (see the diagram below).
NF-e: threeReturnable packaging
Kegs, crates, bottles and pallets travel with the product and come back. They are listed on the NF-e with their own CFOPs (5920 going out, 1921 coming back) and tracked as stock at the customer.
NF-e: shipment · returnReturn, seller issues the NF-e
When the customer can’t issue an NF-e (a consumer, for example), the seller issues an incoming NF-e for the returned goods, referencing the original sale.
NF-e: incoming, by the sellerReturn, customer issues the NF-e
A business customer issues its own return NF-e, referencing your original one. You receive it like a supplier’s invoice and reverse the taxes from it.
NF-e: return, by the customerOne delivery, three documents
How a triangular sale works
Procurement · MM
Why you buy it decides the tax
The same item can be bought for industrialization, resale, own use or as a fixed asset. Each purpose changes the CFOP and which taxes become credits. In SAP the purpose comes mainly from the material usage on the purchase order line.
| Purpose | Example | ICMS credit | IPI credit | PIS/COFINS credit (Lucro Real) | CFOP in-state / interstate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industrialization | Raw material, packaging | Yes | Yes | Yes | 1101 / 2101 |
| Resale | Goods sold as they are | Yes | No, unless the buyer is treated as an industry | Yes | 1102 / 2102 |
| Use and consumption | Office supplies, cleaning material | No, deferred until 2033 | No | Only for items essential to the business | 1556 / 2556 |
| Fixed assets | Machines, equipment | Yes, 1/48 a month (CIAP) | No, as a rule | Yes, on depreciation; faster for some machines | 1551 / 2551 |
| Services | Maintenance, consulting | Not charged (ISS applies, no credit) | Not charged | Yes, when the service is an input | Usually an NFS-e, no CFOP |
| Freight | Carrier on a purchase or a sale | Yes, when the goods give a credit | Not charged | Yes, on sales freight and creditable purchases | 1352 / 2352 (industry) |
General rules of the current system, before the reform. Special regimes, state benefits and tax substitution change them, so confirm each case with the tax team. From 2027 CBS replaces PIS and COFINS with broad credits; see the tax reform.
In SAP
Where these processes are set up
NF type
Each process uses its own nota fiscal type, which controls numbering, direction and whether it is electronic.
CFOP
Determined from the material usage, the material’s CFOP category, the regions and the movement type or item category. See how.
Tax codes
Brazilian tax codes and conditions decide which taxes are charged and which are credited, item by item.
Note
2478949 lists the logistics scenarios SAP supports as standard. Check it before designing a process.
The tax side of each process, step by step, is in Localized Processes in Purchasing (MM) and Sales (SD) in the Brazil Taxation section.