The NF-e (Nota Fiscal Eletrônica) is the electronic goods invoice jointly promoted by Brazil's Receita Federal and the state tax authorities (SEFAZ). Rolled out nationwide from 2008, it is now the mandatory invoicing format for all goods-trade transactions in Brazil (B2B and part of B2C). The NF-e is not a "slip" but an XML document that takes effect only after real-time authorization by the tax authority. The issuer submits the XML to the tax authority, which returns a receipt bearing an authorization number (Protocolo de Autorização), at which point the invoice becomes official.
Issuing an NF-e mainly involves these taxes: ICMS (state goods-circulation tax, 7–25%), IPI (federal industrial products tax, tiered by NCM product code), and PIS / COFINS (federal contributions, being gradually replaced by CBS from 2026). The complexity lies in the fact that ICMS rates are legislated independently by each state, and there are mechanisms such as ICMS-ST (tax substitution) and DIFAL (interstate rate differential) — these are the most common pitfalls for companies expanding into Brazil from abroad.
Each Brazilian state's SEFAZ runs its own NF-e interface, with different rules, stability and maintenance windows. TF Fiscal abstracts away these differences and exposes only a unified RESTful API + JSON data format. Developers don't need to know any state's specific XSD schema.
Provide the product's NCM code + origin state + destination state + customer type, and the platform automatically computes the ICMS rate, ICMS-ST tax substitution, interstate DIFAL differential, IPI federal industrial tax, and PIS / COFINS federal contributions. It can also be combined with the Brazil Tax Calculation API.
After you POST /v1/invoices/nfe, the platform synchronously completes signing → submits to SEFAZ → parses the receipt → returns the authorization number (chNFe). The whole flow averages 1–3 seconds. An asynchronous mode is also supported: an internal reference is returned first, and a webhook pushes the result once authorization is complete.
NF-e cancellation (Cancelamento) must be submitted within 24 hours of issuance; beyond that window, you can modify certain fields via a Carta de Correção (correction letter), or handle it via a reverse NF-e (return invoice). TF Fiscal provides a dedicated API for each of these three operations.
Every invoice automatically archives the original XML + a printable DANFE copy, retained for 5 years by default (a Brazilian legal requirement), with extensions supported on the Enterprise plan. The DANFE can be customized with a logo and watermark, and can be emailed directly to the buyer. See DANFE PDF Generation.
Brazil's Constitutional Amendment EC 132/2023 launched a tax reform: CBS (federal contribution) will gradually replace PIS / COFINS, and IBS (goods and services tax) will gradually replace ICMS / ISS. TF Fiscal's rules engine has already adapted to the new tax fields, with old and new fields coexisting during the transition.
NF-e issuance is included in all TF Fiscal plans, from basic monthly subscriptions to fully customized enterprise solutions. See Pricing for details. High-volume customers such as large e-commerce businesses, ERP providers and 3PLs can contact sales for a customized enterprise solution.