The Federal Government has adopted several measures in the tax, customs and social security spheres to reduce the economic impacts of COVID-19 for Brazil.
These acts have been updated and summarized by our tax team and will be periodically re-updated if new measures are announced.
See below our summary of the Tax, Customs and Social Security measures, divided into topics:
Tax Measures:
- Debt Clearance Certificates: the Federal Revenue of Brazil (RFB) and the Office of the General Counsel to the National Treasury (PGFN), via Joint Ordinance RFB and PGFN No. 555/2020, extended the validity of the Debt Negative Certificates related to Federal Tax Credits and Federal Outstanding Debt (CND) and of the Positive Certificates with Negative Effects of Debts related to Federal Tax Credits and Federal Outstanding Debt (CPEND) for 90 (ninety) days.
- Collection of Tax Debts: the RFB determined the suspension, until May 29, 2020, of electronic notices of collection and summons to pay taxes through Ordinance RFB no. 543/2020. Likewise, the PGFN, through Ordinance of the Ministry of Economy (ME) no. 103/2020, also suspended collection acts and forwarding of overdue debt certificates for extrajudicial protest for the next 90 (ninety) days. These suspensions also apply to social security debts.
- Import Tax: the Federal Government authorized the reduction to 0 (zero) of the ad valorem rates of the Import Tax, until September 2020, on the import of medical-hospital products listed in CAMEX Resolution No. 17/2020.
- IPI: the Federal Government has also authorized the reduction to 0 (zero) of the IPI rates, until September 2020, for domestically produced or imported goods listed in Decree no. 10,285/2020.
- Administrative Proceedings: Pursuant to Ordinance ME No. 103/2020 and RFB Ordinance No. 543/2020, the terms for taxpayers' defense in administrative proceedings for collection of the federal overdue liabilities, including social security debts, were suspended for ninety (90) days, and the terms for practice of procedural acts within the scope of the RFB and for the RFB to issue electronic decision-making orders with analysis of merit in requests for refund, reimbursement and reimbursement, and offsetting statements were suspended until May 29, 2020.
In addition, Ordinance PGFN no. 7.821/2020 also suspended for ninety (90) days the deadlines for the filing, opposition and appeal against the decision rendered in the scope of the Administrative Procedure for the Recognition of Liability (PARR), for the filing of a statement of non-compliance and appeal in the scope of the exclusion process of the Special Program of Tax Regularization (PERT), for the early offer of guarantee in tax enforcement, for the filing and appeal against the dismissal of the Request for the Review of Enrolled Debt (PRDI) and for the filing for protest of overdue debt certificates.
- Renegotiation of Debts: until March 25, 2020, the PGFN, through Ordinance ME No. 103/2020, opened the possibility of renegotiating debts recorded in the federal active debt, including social security debts, through a transaction by adhesion on the REGULARIZE platform(www.regularize.pgfn.gov.br).
The adhesion presupposes the payment of an down payment of at least 1% (one percent) of the total value of the debt in up to 3 (three) installments, as well as the payment of the remaining debt in up to 81 (eighty-one) installments for legal entities or 97 (ninety-seven) installments for natural persons, individual entrepreneurs, micro-companies (ME) or small-sized companies (EPP), the first payment of the other installments being postponed to the last business day of the month of June 2020. For social contributions, there is a limitation of fifty-seven (57) installments. For adhesion, the conditions and limits established in Provisional Measure no. 899/2019 and by ME/PGFN Ordinance no. 7,820/2020 must be observed.
- Simples Nacional: an extension of the deadline for companies that joined Simples Nacional to pay the next installments of federal taxes was established. Thus, payments due in April, May and June 2020 were extended to October, November and December 2020, as set forth in Resolution no. 152/2020 of the Management Committee of Simples Nacional (CGSN).
Customs Measures:
- Prior Authorization for Export: to ensure the national supply as a priority, a prior authorization from ANVISA is now required for export of goods and products subject to sanitary surveillance of the class of sanitizers and health products listed in Resolution RDC No. 352/2020, as well as chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine and some of their derivatives.
- Simplified Customs Clearance: the customs clearance of products for medical-hospital use and to combat COVID-19 listed in CAMEX Resolution 17/2020 and SRF Normative Instruction 680/2006 was simplified, and the receipt of the goods is now authorized even before the conclusion of the customs conference.
- AEO - Compliance Level 2: the Normative Instruction (IN) SRF No 680/2006 also had the change promoted by IN No 1,927/2020 which included the importer certified as an Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) in the mode AEO - Compliance Level 2 in the list of persons authorized to receive the goods before the conclusion of the customs conference.
Social Security Measures:
- Annual Allowance: the advance payment of the annual allowance referred to in article 40 of Law no. 8,213/1991 to the beneficiary of social security who, during this year of 2020, has received sick pay, accident allowance or retirement, death pension or confinement allowance was authorized. The advance payment will be made in two (2) installments, the 1st (first) installment in April and the 2nd (second) installment in May 2020, as set forth in Provisional Measure (MP) no. 927/2020.
- FGTS: the deadline for companies to pay their employees' FGTS of March, April and May 2020 was suspended for three (3) months. Thus, the FGTS that would fall due in April, May and June 2020 will now fall due monthly as of July 2020, and may also be paid in installments, in up to 6 (six) installments, without charges, in accordance with the provisions of MP no. 927/2020.
- INSS: the anticipation of the payment of the 13th salary of retirees and pensioners of the INSS was also authorized, with the 1st (first) installment anticipated to April 2020, whose payment must occur between April 24 and May 8, and the 2nd (second) installment was anticipated to May 2020, and the payment must occur between May 25 and June 5.
- S System and PIS/PASEP: the Federal Government has also announced a reduction of 50% (fifty percent) for three (3) months of the contributions to the S System and the transfer of the PIS/PASEP amounts not withdrawn to the FGTS in order to allow new withdrawals. These announced measures are still pending regulation.
For further information, contact the Advisory Tax team (tributarioconsultivo@btlaw.
