Source: ETCO Magazine, No. 12, April 2009

Celebrating the first year of implementation of the Electronic Invoice (NF-e), in April of this year, Brazil reached the milestone of over 140 million authorized NF-e, which corresponds to a value that exceeds 2 trillion reais (www.nfe.fazenda.gov.br). The adoption of the Electronic Invoice of such a system required the commitment of all parties involved. “There was a huge cultural change and it was only possible thanks to the partnership work between the state inspectors, the Federal Revenue of Brazil and the taxpayers. Everyone sat together at the table and discussed what would be the best way to do this ”, says Eudaldo Jesus. The biggest challenge, he says, was the paradigm shift so that the digital document became the official document. Although provided by law, it was a great novelty for the taxpayer and the tax authorities. "We have overcome this cultural barrier through an intense work, which is still done today, of dissemination and explanation through lectures on the subject to users," said Eudaldo Jesus.

In April 2009, on its first anniversary, the mandatory Electronic Invoice will be extended to new segments of the economy, such as distributors, wholesalers or importers of alcoholic beverages, including beers and draft beer, distributors, wholesalers or importers of soft drinks, manufacturers, distributors , wholesalers or importers of extract and syrup used in the manufacture of soft drinks, wholesalers of beverages with fractionation activity and associated packaging, tobacco wholesalers, cigarillos and cigars manufacturers, manufacturers and importers of cigarette filters, among others. And, still in September this year, NF-e begins to apply to segments such as cosmetics manufacturers, manufacturers of cleaning products, manufacturers of animal feed, among others.

“We work for a common ideal: to expand tax justice and reduce costs for taxpayers and public administration”

Eudaldo Almeida de Jesus, general coordinator of Encat

Last year, the first sectors that compulsorily adopted the NF-e were cigarette and liquid fuel manufacturers, with around 400 companies. In December, it was the turn of the automotive, alcoholic and soft drinks, medicines, cement, refrigerators, semi-finished and rolled steel and energy suppliers sectors, reaching 3.500 companies. Now the third phase of the mandatory Electronic Invoice should include approximately 7 thousand new companies in the system, which means a total of more than 11 thousand companies issuing NF-e in Brazil. The use of NF-e represents a leap in quality in the collection and inspection of taxes in Brazil, enabling a significant reduction in competitive tax imbalances, greater tax justice and a better business environment. But, according to the general coordinator of Encat, Eudaldo Jesus, tax fraud still occurs in Brazil, although the work to combat it is becoming more and more intense. “The common note was also defrauded. The advantage of the Electronic Invoice is that it allows greater control of tax evasion ”, he said. According to Eudaldo Jesus, the tax authorities are modernizing and seeking electronic forms of control to prevent fraud.