Author: Loriane Comeli

Source: LONDRINA SHEET - PR, 06/07/2009

There are at least three ways to evade taxes in the fuel sector, especially in the purchase and sale of alcohol, two partners of a distributor in Londrina, whose names will not be revealed at their request, reported the report.
"We only sell gasoline and diesel, because the alcohol trade is impractical in Londrina," said one of the businessmen.

 

One of the forms of evasion is the addition of water to anhydrous alcohol - an untaxed product, as it is destined exclusively to be added to gasoline - and its later sale as hydrated alcohol, that to be used in alcohol cars. In this case, there is evasion and adulteration. There are also distributors who manage to place the alcohol from the plant directly at the stations, failing to collect at least 6% of the ICMS. The third way is when the mills collude and sell alcohol without invoice.

Tax evasion is responsible for the “extremely complicated” market in Londrina, as admitted by the president of the Paraná Resellers Union (Sindicombustíveis), Roberto Fregonese. For almost a decade, consumer protection agencies have struggled to try to regularize the sector; businessmen respond to criminal actions for crimes against the economic order, such as the practice of a cartel; some have already been arrested.

Last week, retailers told the report that there is dumping on the market, a criminal way of leveling prices below cost and wiping out competition. The entrepreneurs themselves admitted to having lowered alcohol to R $ 0,99 because they were subsidized by distributors. The price went up again last Wednesday, on average, 40%. Gasoline rose about 10%. Entrepreneurs said the problem of fuel prices starts at the distributors themselves. Some have no basis, that is, they operate from small offices “just selling invoices”, as is the case with the second type of evasion.

“ANP (National Petroleum Agency) requires that every distributor have a place where the fuel that comes from the plant, in the case of alcohol, is deposited, accounted for and inspected. These distributors without a base have none of that, ”said one distributor. According to the businessman, the “distributor” goes to the plant, loads the truck and does the distribution directly at the stations. “Sometimes, an invoice is used for multiple sales: they pay the tax only once.”

 

Operational problems

Recently, the State Revenue failed to demand the seal on the fuel pumps, which would allow the owner of the station to tamper with the quantity sold, paying less taxes. The same agency also ended the tax posts, which were supposed to approach trucks loaded with alcohol to check whether the tax was paid at the plant. "This allows plants to sell fuel while evading taxes."

This, incidentally, is another problem pointed out by entrepreneurs: the way of collecting the tax. In the case of gasoline and diesel oil, Petrobras collects all applicable taxes. The sale of alcohol is different and the collection goes through two phases. The plant must collect 12% and the distributor, 6%, in addition to the tax substitution. “But the distributors clandestine they manage to evade 6% and sell the cheapest fuel to the gas station; it is obvious that the owner of the post knows this, because when he gets a lower price it is because he bought the product without a note ”, reported one of the businessmen. For them, the ideal would be for the plant to be responsible for collecting all taxes. “So, when the distributors went to buy, the price would be the same for everyone. And it would be much easier to inspect the little more than 20 plants in Paraná than all the distributors and stations ”, explained the businessman. “What we want is to compete on equal terms and be able to sell alcohol; we don't want to become tax evaders, ”added the other.

 

Situation worsens on weekends

On weekends, tax evasion and adulteration of fuel reigns in Londrina, as reported by the two distributors heard by the report. "There are many fuel trucks without invoices parked in Londrina waiting for the best time to unload." On those days, some gas station owners would also take the opportunity to add excess alcohol to gasoline - today the percentage allowed is 25% - and water in anhydrous alcohol. According to the distributors, large companies effectively lower prices to compete in Londrina, as stated by resellers heard by the report last week. "The market here is wild."

 

40% evade

The president of Sindicombusíveis, Roberto Fregonese, confirmed the tax evasion in Londrina and estimated the tax evasion rate in alcohol purchases at 40%. "I would say that Paraná is the market that most evades taxes in the fuel sector," he declared. "I've been denouncing this scheme of tax evasion for some time." The unionist also confirmed the existence of “no base” distributors and stated that they reach the market with “the sole intention of evading”. "And they succeed, because enforcement is lax." Fregonese also criticized the Londrina market and the inspection and consumer protection agencies. “The only concern is that the price will drop; sometimes they succeed and the price goes down, but without curing the causes of the problem: the quality of the product also falls and the tax evasion increases. ” (LC)

Practice is widespread, says inspector

The inspector general of State Revenue Inspection of Paraná, Rafael Carlos Casanova Neto, responded, by email, to the main notes of fuel distributors and resellers. According to him, although the sector accounts for 20% of the collection of ICMS in the state, it is not possible to say that it is the one that most evades. "The absolute amount withheld is very large, but in relative terms there is no significant difference in relation to the other branches."

The inspector said that tax evasion is widespread in all sectors because "many Brazilian entrepreneurs have a very ingrained culture of tax evasion". "But, due to the importance of the fuel sector in the collection of the State, the actions of the State Revenue are continuous."

Casanova explained that the closure of the tax posts occurred two months ago due to a technical study that “proved that that form of inspection was not efficient to curb tax evasion”. Casanova ruled out any possibility of reactivating them, since this would be a tendency of Organs farm agencies: São Paulo and Espírito Santo would have already ended this type of inspection. According to him, there are other methodologies under study, such as “inspections on highways with mobile units”. Regarding the end of the seals on the bombs, the inspector said that this did not represent an increase in tax evasion. "We have been monitoring the collection and have not detected any significant changes in the collection of ICMS", he noted. According to him, the seals are no longer an impediment to tax evasion. “More than five years after the beginning of that practice, we found that the tax evaders adapted, creating new methods, which made the sealing inefficient. There is no forecast of returning to seals. ” As for the concentration of collection in the plants, the inspector also ruled out this possibility, saying that the measure would not solve the problem because there are many defaulting plants. “Furthermore, if any distributor sells alcohol without an invoice, it is because the acquisition also took place without an invoice. The suggested practice would not have any significant impact on the sector's revenue. ”