Source: DCI, 09/04/2009

SÃO PAULO - The Federal Official Gazette published in yesterday's edition the extension of the deadline for the delivery of the Digital Tax Bookkeeping (EFD) files and also the adequacy for issuing the Electronic Invoice (NF-e), pillars that make up the project of the Public Digital Bookkeeping System (Sped Fiscal). For bookkeeping, the deadline for the delivery of EFD files, referring to the months of January to August 2009, was transferred to September 30th. The Federal Revenue Service had previously extended the delivery deadline, which determined that information until April should be sent in May.

In the opinion of experts heard by the report, the deadline was extended because many companies had failed to adapt to the process. “We did a survey a month ago and a third of the respondents were still in the early stages of the process. In addition, 66% of the companies were still adapting to the new rule ”, says Wilson Gellacic, a partner at Ernst & Young, a company in the tax and tax consultancy area. In an article published in early December 2008 by DCI, experts stated that the pace of adaptation to Sped was still slow.

In addition to the delay in adapting, Gellacic believes that the government was “sensitive” to the crisis situation. "As a matter of cash due to the international crisis, many companies had not yet adapted because there are expenses for the implementation of Sped", he bet.

Medium and large companies are investing between R $ 200 thousand to a few million reais in adapting to Sped. The volume of funds varies according to the sector in which the company operates, its degree of maturity and where it is installed.

Ernst & Young tax director Roberto Paiva points out, however, that despite the extension of the term, the businessman will have more months to declare. “This is not just an extension. There is a breathtaking gain, but the volume of information has also increased, as they now have more months ”, he highlights

EFD is a digital file that consists of a set of deeds of tax documents and other information of interest to tax authorities. It must be digitally signed and transmitted, via Internet, to the Sped environment.

The “Diário Oficial” published yesterday the extension, for September, of the deadline for delivery of the pillars that make up the Fiscal Sped.