Tag: Combating tax evasion

New ICMS makes life difficult for small online stores, tax experts say

Division between states forces traders to make complex calculations.
Small Simples retailers will find it more difficult to adapt.

Many companies were taken by surprise by the rule of sharing the ICMS (Tax on the Circulation of Goods and Services) between the states, in force since the beginning of the year. Small businesses - especially those that operate in e-commerce and adopt Simples Nacional - will have more difficulties in adapting, assess tax experts heard by the G1.

Under the new rule, a São Paulo store that sells national wines over the internet to a consumer in Piauí now needs to share the tax collection with the state that receives the goods (see explanation below).

Source: G1 (18/01/16)

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ETCO participates in tax simplification project

Tax SimplificationGroup that brings together large companies and associations has prepared 13 proposals that are being taken to Encat

 

Today, Brazilian companies spend 2.600 hours of work per year to comply with thousands of tax requirements. The world average is only 264 hours. To help reverse this situation, which generates unnecessary costs and risks, the ETCO-Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition is participating in a project that brings together major contributors to suggest concrete tax simplification measures to the sector authorities. The project has the support of Encat (National Meeting of State Tax Coordinators and Administrators).

According to Wermeson Santos, Indirect Tax Manager at Souza Cruz, one of the companies involved in the initiative through ETCO, "the objective is to address the needs of companies and society, as the complexity of the tax system affects everyone".

The project incorporates contributions from 15 companies and associations, including Ambev, Sindicom, Souza Cruz and Pernod Ricard Brasil, which are associated with ETCO.

In December, the group members completed the discussions and prepared a document with 13 suggestions for changes considered to be a priority, such as the use of the Public Digital Bookkeeping System (SPED) as the only channel of information related to the companies' tax and accounting deeds.

The work is being sent to Encat, which will analyze the proposals and take them to Cotepe (Permanent Technical Commission) and, later, to Confaz (National Council for Farm Policy).

In Bahia, Operation Fair Competition results in the inability of 991 companies

135 irregular credit and debit card machines were apprehended, and fines totaled R $ 16,2 million in claimed credits.

With a total of 8.237 establishments inspected in 26 municipalities in Bahia, in the months of November and December, the teams of the State Finance Secretariat (Sefaz-Ba) mobilized by Operation Loyal Competition rendered 991 establishments whose address was not found ineffective, summoned another 328 for registration update and seized 135 credit and debit card machines used irregularly, as they are not linked to the inspected companies. In all, the assessments totaled R $ 16,2 million in claimed credits.

The irregularities with credit and debit card machines deserved special attention from the operation and should have consequences: in addition to the seizure of equipment and the application of R $ 2,3 million in fines, another consequence of the fraud could be the framing of those responsible in lawsuits. for tax crime. Cases that are not regularized by taxpayers at the administrative level will be forwarded by Sefaz-Ba, in the form of crime news, to the State Prosecutor's Office (MP-Ba). It will be up to the MP-Ba to analyze the possibility of framing irregularities as crimes against the tax order.

Preventive work

Aimed at combating tax evasion and the irregular sale of goods, Operation Loyal Competition intensified enforcement in the supermarket, clothing, beverage, footwear and construction materials segments. 60 Mobile Inspection Units and equivalent numbers of inspectors and military police officers were mobilized. The Finance Secretary, Manoel Vitório, points out that the priority in the action was not direct collection, but preventive action, encouraging the taxpayer to voluntarily comply with tax obligations.

When the taxpayer fails to fulfill these obligations, the market resents unfair competition, observes Manoel Vitório. "Those who fail to pay taxes have a competitive advantage over taxpayers who comply with their obligations", explains the secretary. During the inspection, Sefaz-Ba's teams checked, among other topics, whether the tax paid by partial advance was paid and whether the company's actual economic activity was consistent with that described in the ICMS Taxpayer Register.

The teams' agenda was based on data crossings carried out by Sefaz's State Operations Center (COE), which allowed them to act directly in cases where some indication of irregularity had already been found. Loading and unloading was also monitored in large shopping centers and malls, in addition to checking the connection of credit and debit card machines with the registered establishment.

Counties

The Fair Competition operation was carried out by the Inspectors of Inspection of Goods in Transit (IFMT) of the North, South and Metropolitan regions, units linked to the Superintendence of Tax Administration (SAT), under the coordination of the Management of Goods in Transit (Getra).

In the Metropolitan Region of Salvador, the operation inspected taxpayers from six municipalities: Salvador, Lauro de Freitas, Camaçari, Simões Filho, Candeias and Mata de São João. In the North region, the agenda included companies from ten municipalities: Feira de Santana, Santo Antônio de Jesus, Cruz das Almas, Alagoinhas, Irecê, Jacobina, Paulo Afonso, Serrinha, Juazeiro and Senhor do Bonfim. Finally, in the South and West regions, taxpayers from ten other municipalities were included in the operation: Vitória da Conquista, Itabuna, Ilhéus, Eunápolis, Teixeira de Freitas, Itamaraju, Barreiras, Luis Eduardo Magalhães, Bom Jesus da Lapa and Guanambi.

Source: SEFAZ BA (5/01/2016)

In São Paulo, adhesion to the debt installment programs began this Wednesday, 13/1

The Secretariat of Finance opens this Wednesday, January 13, the adhesions to the Special Installment Program (PEP) of the ICMS and to the Debt Installment Program (PPD). São Paulo taxpayers have a term of up to 1/29 to take advantage of the opportunity to settle or split ICMS, IPVA and ITCMD debts with the benefit of a reduction in the amount of the fine and interest.

In the ICMS PEP it is possible to regularize registered and non-registered debts in active debt. To register, companies must access the website www.pepdoicms.sp.gov.br and log in to the system with the same password used in the Electronic Fiscal Post (PFE). The PPD allows the settlement of debts registered in active debt of IPVA, ITCMD, fees of any kind and origin, judicial fee, administrative fines of a non-tax nature, contractual fines and criminal fines. Adhesions can be made through the website www.ppd2015.sp.gov.br.

In both installment programs, debts must arise from taxable events occurring up to December 31, 2014. See below the benefits of PEP and PPD:
ICMS Special Installment Program (PEP)

Payment Financial additions Discounts on
interest and fines
all at once -  - 60% reduction in interest

- 75% reduction in the amount of punitive and moratorium fines
Up to 24 months 1% per month  - 50% reduction in the amount of punitive and moratorium fines

- 40% reduction in interest
From 25 to 60 months 1,40% per month
From 61 to 120 months 1,80% per month

Debt Installment Program - PPD (IPVA, ITCMD and Fees)

Payment Financial additions Tax Debt Non-tax debt
all at once - - 75% reduction in the amount of punitive and moratorium fines

- 60% reduction in interest

 - 75% reduction in the updated amount of late payment charges
In up to 24 installments 1% per month - 50% reduction in the amount of punitive and moratorium fines

- 40% reduction in interest

 - 50% reduction in the updated amount of late payment charges

 

Source: SEFAZ-SP (13/01)

Changes to the Electronic Invoice become effective as of January 2016

As of January 2016, XNUMX all companies that sell to end consumers in other states will have to adapt to the new ICMS system. In practice, they will have to comply with new ancillary obligations, which start with the readjustment of the Electronic Invoice (NF-e), Electronic Consumer Invoice (NFC-e) and the Electronic Tax Coupon Authentication System (SAT) models.

The layout of these tax documents will have to be changed to include new fields. With the change in the ICMS system, those who sell to final consumers in another state will be obliged to inform the ICMS due in the note considering the rates of the destination, interstate and state of origin.

Among other changes, a new field in the tax documents will also be necessary to insert a numeric code, the Specification Code for Tax Substitution (Cest). This requirement was for April 2016.

Details of the change in the layout of the invoices can be found in the Technical Note (NT) 003/2015.

The new requirements will be promoted to try to alleviate the problem of the fiscal war between the states.

Under the new calculation system, the ICMS of origin will be calculated by multiplying the tax calculation base by the interstate rate. The ICMS of the destination will be calculated by multiplying the tax calculation base by the internal rate of the destination state. The result of this account will be subtracted from the source ICMS.

The new guidelines were proposed by Constitutional Amendment 87/2015 and agreed between the states through Agreement 93/2015 of the National Council for Farm Policy (Confaz).

The changes take effect in January 2016, but companies will not be fined for the first six months of validity if they fail to adapt.

 

Governor Alckmin extends up to 75 days deadline for collection of ICMS from taxpayers in São Paulo

Governor Geraldo Alckmin signed on 17/12, in a ceremony at the Palácio dos Bandeirantes, a measure that extends the deadline for the collection of ICMS by up to 75 days and benefits around 222 thousand São Paulo companies. Decree No. 59.967, published in the Official Gazette this Wednesday, 18/12, meets the demands of business entities and accountants. The extension of the term for calculating the tax represents a reinforcement in the cash flow of the companies and contributes to the economic development of São Paulo.

All the São Paulo taxpayers opting for Simples Nacional and a large part of companies under the Periodic Tax Regime (RPA) from sectors such as agriculture, extractive industry, beverages, pulp and paper, chemicals, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, information technology, appliances will benefit from the extension. , vehicles and toys, among others. The change in the tax collection flow does not cover the segment of administered prices (fuels, communication and energy).
Those opting for Simples Nacional, who collect ICMS for tax substitution and at interstate entries - rate differential - will start to pay the tax on the last day of the 2nd month following the taxable event. According to the previous rule, it was necessary to make the payment by the 15th of the following month.

Simples companies that prepay the ICMS required on interstate goods inputs subject to tax substitution will have increased the deadline for paying the tax by 75 days, on average. Previously, these taxpayers were required to calculate and collect the tax on a daily basis, at each goods receipt. With the edition of Decree nº 59.967, the calculation will become monthly and the payment required only on the last day of the second month following the calculation.

Source: SEFAZ-SP (17/12)

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Attorney of the National Treasury announces measures to increase revenue

The Attorney General's Office of the National Treasury (PGFN) informed today (16) that it intends to increase the collection of the Union's active debt to a value between R $ 30 billion and R $ 35 billion in 2016, which corresponds to an increase of up to R $ 20 billion in relation to 2015. This year, the collection of active debt was R $ 15 billion, of which R $ 7 billion related to installments.

The attorney general's effort is in line with the New Active Debt Collection Plan structured over the second half of 2015, which was developed to expand the protest of the active debt certificate to medium and large debtors, with expected collection between R $ 3 billion to 6 billion.

Another measure was the signing of a technical cooperation agreement between the Minister of Finance, Joaquim Levy, and the President of the National Council of Justice (CNJ), Ricardo Lewandowski, to foster and apply solutions in partnership between the Judiciary and the Executive Branch , to more quickly recover credits in favor of the State. To this end, an agreement will establish a work plan with mechanisms so that debtors' processes with a greater prospect of payment can be processed more quickly.

The prosecutor's office informed that it has already forwarded to the National Council of Justice a list of the thousand largest tax enforcement proceedings, with guarantee and surety, so that the judgment is streamlined. These lawsuits total R $ 25 billion. The collection forecast, in these cases, reaches 10 billion.

In another measure, the PGFN, the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Incra) and the Federal Attorney General's Office, linked to the Federal Attorney General's Office, have joined together to charge the largest debtors and owners of rural land in the Union. shows that 26 owners of the largest areas owe R $ 45 billion. The collection forecast ranges from R $ 5 billion to 10 billion.

The body established a rating of large debtors, with a focus on collecting those with the greatest possibility of recovery, with a forecast of collection of R $ 5 billion and asset monitoring of large debtors at the Administrative Council of Tax Resources (Carf), with collection forecast of between R $ 2 billion to 4 billion. Another measure provides for greater effectiveness in requests for attachment of assets and rights, with an estimate of raising between R $ 2 billion and 5 billion.

The Federal Prosecutor's Office wants to improve its fiscal research and analysis activities, with a differentiated performance in relation to debtors with signs of “committing fraud” and expects to raise, with this, from R $ 2 billion to 5 billion.

For the Attorney's Office, the reform of the CARF and the expectation of accelerating judgments in 2016, will allow to increase the collection, since the Council prioritizes the admissibility assessment of the Special Resources to define if the appeal will be followed up in the superior instance or will pass for collection, first administrative and, eventually, by the Attorney's Office.

Source: Agência Brasil (16/12)