Author: Eduardo Kormives

Source: Jornal de Santa Catarina - Blumenau / SC - 10/09/2010

The Secretariat of Finance closed the siege to tax evaders in the fuel sector of Santa Catarina. The inspection of 315 stations resulted in 193 notices and the cancellation of the state registration of two distributors.

The total amount of tax notifications, which refer only to the period between September 2009 and April this year, reaches R $ 25 million. The amount represents the total ICMS withheld plus interest and fine. Only one post in Florianópolis would have received three notices, which, together, would reach R $ 1 million.

According to Diário Catarinense, most fined establishments are located on the Santa Catarina coast, especially in Greater Florianópolis, which concentrates the bulk of the volume of fuel sold in the state. Ten of the 15 largest gasoline sellers in Santa Catarina are in the capital.

The assessments began to be mailed on August 5. The notified stations have 30 days to pay the fines. If the amount due has not been paid to date, they are entered in the State's active debt and may be charged in court.

The two distributors whose state registration was canceled were Petropar, headquartered in Campo Largo (PR) and branches in Itajaí and Biguaçu, and Petromotor, headquartered in Itajaí and three units outside Santa Catarina.

They also have 30 days to appeal the administrative decision, which prevents them from continuing to work in the state. The deadline expires on Friday.

Petropar announced that it does not intend to appeal the measure. Petromotor says it will present a defense to the Finance Department.

Opine: do you only refuel at gas stations you trust or choose for the price?

Ethanol

According to the agency's inspectors, the problem is, in 95% of the cases, related to the sale of ethanol. In August last year, the government estimated that tax evasion reached 30% of the total volume sold in Santa Catarina, which represents R $ 8 million less in public coffers per month.

The distributors issued a note, but only partially paid the tax due. The stations that bought the fuel were considered jointly responsible for the evasion scheme.

As some of the establishments ignored the inspection of the Farm and continued to buy until the distributors were notified, a new batch of notifications, relating to the period between April and August, should be sent soon.

Selection

Santa Catarina has around two thousand gas stations. In order to select the establishments that would be inspected, the sector's specialist fuel group (Gescol) at the Fazenda took the distributor as its main criterion.

In the case of Petropar, for example, all customers in Santa Catarina ended up being assessed. The distributor, which already held 40% of the ethanol market in the state, made only five sales in the last week of August.

Sector is the biggest source of ICMS

The fuel sector is the largest source of ICMS for the state government. Almost R $ 10 billion are collected annually, 20% of the total amount. In turn, ICMS represents 80% of Santa Catarina's revenue.

It is not by chance that the Fazenda created a specialist group (Gescol) to expand the sector's inspection. Its coordinator, Roque Bach, is adamant: fuel that is too cheap compared to the competition means tax evasion in 100% of cases.

Last month, the collection of taxes on the sale of gasoline in Santa Catarina grew 4,9%, and that of diesel oil, 3,9%. At the time of collecting the ICMS, the stations are taxed according to the so-called weighted average price to the final consumer (PMPF), calculated by the Treasury. Today it is R $ 1,75 a liter of ethanol and R $ 2,46 a gasoline.

As this price comes in a downward trend, driven by the price war in Greater Florianópolis, Bach believes that the growth in revenue is linked to the control measures taken.

- Although the fuel sector is widely talked about, it has the highest legality index among the economic activities of Santa Catarina. Something around 95%. Rarely will another sector reach this index. The problem is that the 5% represents a high volume - says Bach.

The large posts in the state have until the end of the month to retire mechanical pumps. In addition, the adoption of electronic invoices allows Gescol to cross-check data on the volume of fuel stored and declared sales. Information can be checked in real time.

For the institutional director of the Union of Fuel Dealers of Greater Florianópolis (Sindicomb), Luiz Ângelo Sombrio, the inspection and assessment of tax evaders separates the chaff from the wheat.

- This shows the consumer that there are wolves disguised in lambskin, causing harm to society. No one can sell so cheaply without evasion.

According to him, in the last 90 days, many posts had to sacrifice the profit margin to compete with those who do not pay tax. Sombrio also said that Sindicomb will continue to collaborate with the Treasury and the Public Ministry.