O Povo (CE), 26/04/2006

The Brazilian Federal Revenue Service expects that electronic invoicing and digital certification will reduce tax evasion and bureaucracy. This was one of the topics discussed yesterday at a meeting promoted by the Brazilian Institute of Independent Auditors (Ibracon) and the Association of Accountants of the State of Ceará (Acontece).

The promise of less bureaucracy and more agility in the process of presenting company data that professionals regularly provide to regulatory bodies was the tone of the meeting held yesterday, Accountant's Day, between technicians from the Federal Revenue Service and the accounting field, promoted by the Brazilian Institute of Independent Auditors (Ibracon) and the Association of Accountants of the State of Ceará (Acontece).

The main topics discussed were the changes planned for the Public Digital Bookkeeping System (SPED), which establishes the electronic invoice and adopts digital certification as a security measure. According to Paulo Lacerda, superintendent of the Federal Revenue Service, the project for electronically issued invoices is in the testing phase in some states and should be implemented throughout the country next year.

The federal agency expects increased control over business transactions (which will reduce tax evasion), greater security (with digital certification), and less work for both companies and accountants when providing information. "One of the advantages is that, to obtain any data about the company's situation, it will no longer be necessary to go to the tax office. Simply access it via computer using the certification," he explains.
For Robinson de Castro e Silva, president of Ibracon, the new development is welcome because, according to him, bureaucracy is one of the main problems faced by accountants. “There is a very large number of forms to be filled out, tax legislation has changed a lot and needs to be kept up to date. And if there is any error, it is the professional who is penalized. The accounting profession today is a risky one,” he states.

Augusta Barbosa, president of Acontece, believes that another advantage of the new system will be the possibility of unifying the information sent to the federal, state, and municipal governments. "It will reduce the ancillary obligations of accountants, who today have to send the same data to each regulatory body," she assesses.

At least in one area of ​​federal tax enforcement, computerization has already helped to streamline the data provision process and has practically replaced paper. As of yesterday morning, the Federal Revenue Service in Ceará had received 295 tax returns from individuals. Of these, 290 were submitted electronically. The expectation is that, of the 470 expected for the state, 98% will be done by computer.