Brazil: Extension of the ECF transmission deadline and changes in the proposed tax reform

published on 20 July 2021 | reading time approx. 3 minutes

Extension of the ECF transmission deadline »
Changes in the proposed tax reform »

Extension of the ECF transmission deadline

The Fiscal Authority of Brazil (RFB) published Normative Instruction No. 2039 on 14 July 2021, which extended the deadline for transmission of the ancillary tax obligation ECF, which is related to Corporate Income Tax (IRPJ), to 30 September 2021. The previous deadline was 30 July 2021.

The extension also applies to cases of extinction, partial spin-off, total split, merger or incorporation in which the ECF must be delivered by the extinct, split, merged, merged and merging legal entities, subject to the following deadlines:

By the last business day of September 2021, if the extinction, partial or total spin-off, merger or incorporation takes place in the period from January to June; and

By the last business day of the 3rd (third) month following the event, if the extinction, partial or total spin-off, merger or incorporation takes place between July and December.

Changes in the proposed tax reform

The second part of the tax reform project (Law 2337/21) delivered to Congress on June 25 this year has been widely discussed by the various sectors of society that will be impacted, last Tuesday (13 July, 2021) it was submitted to multiple amendments through the preliminary report of the rapporteur, deputy Celso Sabino, of which the following stand out:

Greater reduction in the income tax rate

The project initially proposed the gradual reduction of the rate from 15 per cent to 10 cent. With the latest changes, an even lower rate of 2.5 per cent was proposed over the next two years.

The rules for the 10 per cent additional of income tax and the Social Contribution rate, which corresponds to 9 per cent, remain unchanged.

END OF TAX INCENTIVES AND BENEFITS

In view of the expected drop in revenue, due to the reduction in the IRPJ rate, countermeasures were proposed to mitigate possible losses, such as:

Extinction of the Worker's Food Program (PAT) benefit: Currently granted to companies that calculate their taxes using the Taxable Income system, it allows deduction of IRPJ due to expenses with meal vouchers, food vouchers and costs with on-site cafeterias, up to a limit of 4 per cent.

Revocation of tax-advantages and special regimes: The proposed change applies to several sectors, among the main ones impacted are the pharmaceutical, chemical, personal care, aviation and energy industries. Medicines and personal care products, for example, would lose the special regime that allows the reduced taxation of PIS and COFINS to a series of items.

OBLIGATION OF TAXABLE INCOME

The obligatory calculation of the Taxable Income for real estate and construction companies or those dedicated to the exploitation of royalties, property rights of author or image, name, brand or voice was removed from the project.

EDUCATION EXPENSES FOR PARTNERS AND ADMINISTRATORS

The original project characterized the company's expenses with the partner, administrator or owner of the legal entity in schools, health plans and clubs, among others, as a disguised distribution of profits.

An exception was allowed for expenses with training in an event or short-term course that is correlated with the main economic activity of the company.

INVESTMENT FUNDS

The original proposal determines that closed funds (multimarket) will have the same treatment as open funds for periodic taxation, known as "quota eater". The following exceptions were allowed:

Real Estate Investment Funds (FII);
Investment Funds in Agro-industrial Productive Chains (Fiagro);
Infrastructure Equity Investment Fund (FIP-IE);
Investment Fund in Participation in Intensive Economic Production in Research, Development and Innovation – FIP-PD&I;
Credit Rights Investment Funds.