Help the magistrates who judge cases of tax evasion to understand the problem of the persistent debtor. This was the objective of a lecture presented at the 2nd Taxation and Company Congress of Ajufesp - Association of Federal Judges of São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul. In an auditorium full of judges and judges, and with simultaneous transmission to other units of Justice Federal, law professor Luciano de Godoy, of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation, explained how the heavy tax evaders act.

According to him, one of the sectors most affected is fuel distribution, in which taxes, especially the ICMS, represent 30% to 40% of the product's price. Godoy acts as a lawyer for the Sindicom-National Union of Fuel and Lubricant Distribution Companies.

"The average debtor does not collect taxes and even sells fuel below cost," said Godoy. In doing so, it gains market quickly and accumulates profits while delaying administrative and judicial tax collection processes to the maximum. When, years later, he is ultimately convicted, the debts have already become much higher than the company's equity, which ends up ending its activities. Meanwhile, competitors who act within the law are harmed. “In the past, the big problem in the sector was adulterated fuels,” said the FGV professor. "Today, they are the permanent debtors."

Godoy took stock of the legal situation related to this type of tax evasion. He recalled that some states, such as Rio Grande do Sul, created special inspection regimes, which require the advance payment of taxes and include other measures to curb the practice. But these laws are being challenged in court on the grounds that they would undermine free enterprise.

After the presentation of the problem, federal judge Fernando Marcelo Mendes, president of Ajufesp, suggested that the matter be taken to a committee that studies changes in the collection of active debt by the States and the Union.

Present at the event, the executive director of Sindicom, Jorge Luiz Oliveira, spoke about the importance of the lecture. “Taking this type of knowledge helps the magistrates to understand the harm that the frequent debtor causes to the fuel sector and to society”, he commented.

Sindicom and ETCO-Instituto Brasileiro de Ética Concorrencial support initiatives to combat persistent debtors.