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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.

 

Recipient's manifestation is an important tool in the fight against fraud

recipient's statementSince August 1, companies in the distribution of cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, soft drinks and mineral waters are required to comment on all invoices issued against it - confirming the transaction or pointing out inconsistencies, such as errors or even the unaware of the purchase. It is the so-called recipient's manifestation, an important tool created by the Brazilian revenue agencies as an evolution of the electronic invoice.

The objective is to “close the cycle” of selling and distributing a product, giving the tax authorities information from the moment the note is issued until the deal is closed. “Brazil is the first country to have this type of system”, says Eudaldo Almeida, general coordinator of the National Meeting of State Tax Coordinators and Administrators (ENCAT).

In order to disseminate the new requirements to its members, the ETCO-Brazilian Institute of Competition Ethics promoted in June, at its headquarters, a presentation by ENCAT representatives on the subject.

By the rules of the recipient's statement, whoever is identified on the invoice as the buyer of a product or taker of a service must confirm the existence of the commercial operation. This tool was instituted in 2012 and since March 2013 it was mandatory for fuel distributors. In July of the same year, the practice started to be demanded also from gas stations. A year later, the non-fuel alcohol sector was added to the list. “The choice of sectors that will be required to use this instrument is based on the economic importance and the risks of unfair competition present in these economic segments”, says Almeida.

LOSSES TO SOCIETY

The idea is, with confirmation by the recipient, to prevent fraud that occurs through the improper use of the numbers of the National Register of Legal Entities (CNPJ) or the State Registration (IE) of a taxpayer. This is usually done to cover up shady transactions carried out with other recipients or to take advantage of the tax substitution system, simulating the sale of products to states with lower taxes than those of destination. Another practice combated by the recipient's manifestation is the cancellation of already delivered goods bills - thus avoiding the collection of taxes. After the recipient confirms the transaction, it is no longer possible to cancel the invoice.

Fraudsters cause a series of losses to society by adopting this type of conduct. The tax authorities lose revenue. The taxpayer who had his data used improperly may have a headache when asked to explain about the purchase he did not make. As for companies that act within the law, the problem lies in having to face competitors who obtain advantages illegally.

In addition to the advantage of helping to combat possible fraud, the recipient's statement is a tool that gives those involved in the operation greater control over the shipping and delivery of goods. "As the confirmation can be seen by both the Revenue and by those who sold it, this instrument helps everyone to stay up to date on the process", says Jorge Luiz Oliveira, executive director of the National Union of Fuel and Lubricant Distribution Companies (Sindicom).

IMPROVEMENTS

Like any system being implemented, the Recipient Manifestation still faces some challenges. One of the most important is to create ways to get taxpayers to carry out the demonstration within the legal timeframe. "Tax authorities need to act more strongly when there is no manifestation by the recipient, because in these cases there is a great risk of diversion," says Almeida.

According to representatives of the fuel sector, which has been using the system for some time, there is also a lack of agreements between state inspection bodies so that the revenue of the state receiving the goods can inspect the receipt of a note issued by another member of the federation. "Today, the highest rate of non-manifestation occurs in interstate transactions, which keeps an important gap open for fraudsters", says Antonio Rodrigues Filho, tax director at Sindicom. Another point of improvement suggested by representatives of the sector is better regulation of fines for those who do not make the manifestation of the recipient. Some states impose very mild punishments while others have created very severe fines. “We have to find a middle ground”, says Rodrigues. "But before that, we need to make enforcement more efficient."

São Paulo retailers begin to exchange banknote issuers from 01/07

As of this Wednesday (1), the mandatory exchange of the system of issuing and transmitting invoices to retailers in the State of São Paulo begins.
The former ECF (Tax Coupon Issuer), which issue the note on tax paper, will gradually be replaced by the SAT (Electronic Tax Coupon Authenticator and Transmitter System), which require a digital signature and automate the transmission of banknotes to the government.
The change is mainly aimed at making tax evasion more difficult. “By receiving the bills electronically, the government is able to monitor the establishments and improve the crossing of tax information”, says Araquen Pa-go o, president of the Brazilian Association of Commercial Automation.

Any store that starts operating after Wednesday will have to adopt the system - this is also true for new business branches that already exist. Companies with annual sales of R $ 120 thousand or more will have to replace their ECF equipment with five years of use until October (see box). Even those who already use the electronic invoice (NFC-e), which sends the notes through an application, need to have at least one SAT in their store, to be able to continue issuing the documents even when the internet fails.

Source: Folha de SP (01/07)

 

Revenue wants to replace PIS / Cofins with a new tax

The Federal Revenue is studying changes that could lead to the extinction of the so-called PIS / Cofins, source of more than 20% of the Union's tax resources (about R $ 86 billion of the R $ 414 billion collected from January to April 2015). The idea is to replace it with a single social contribution, with a single rate. The goal is to approve the change in Congress this year so that it takes effect in early 2016.

The impact on the total amount paid by companies should be neutral, believes the IRS, for whom the measure will reduce the administrative costs of taxpayers. This is because it will simplify taxation, the complexity of which is widely recognized by the Ministry of Finance, which is linked to the Federal Revenue Service.

This legal mess that they call PIS / Cofins includes different taxation regimes, specific treatment for various sectors of the economy and different rates. In the case of Cofins, the highest reaches 7,6% of the company's revenue, which brings the maximum rate of the two taxes to 9,25%.

One of the most controversial aspects of this taxation model is that it allows, in theory, to offset certain credits, relative to the costs accumulated by companies along the production chain. In practice, its rules are so complicated that many taxpayers end up not making the compensation to which they are entitled. The IRS signs a formula that will simplify this process, making it possible to effectively offset all costs incurred.

If the Revenue plan works, the Contribution to the Financing of Social Security (Cofins) and the Programs of Social Integration and Formation of the Civil Servants' Heritage (PIS / Pasep) - which together became known by the acronym PIS will be retired. / Cofins.

End of statements

Also in line with tax simplification, the area's technicians are working on a proposal to eliminate several declarations that companies are currently required to provide to the government. Among them, the corporate income tax return (IRPJ). It is even considered to end the Annual List of Social Information (Rais), which every legal entity is obliged to send each year to the Ministry of Labor.

Gender statements form some of the so-called "ancillary obligations". That is, all the bureaucratic procedures associated with taxes or legal records that any existing organization in the country is forced to follow in order to keep up with the Tax Authorities and other State institutions: rules for issuing invoices, sending information, bookkeeping accounting books, etc. Such obligations provide a rich source of information, including to facilitate tax investigation. But they account for a significant part of the normative maze that is the hallmark of Brazilian tax legislation.

Changing part of this infernal reality will be possible because of the modernization of data processing reported by taxpayers. “With the electronic invoice, for example, what is informed by the taxpayer enters the database immediately. This will allow, through the crossing of information or the integration of different systems, to eliminate various requirements, greatly simplifying the taxpayer's life ”, explains a technician involved in the studies.

Source: Congress in focus (15/06)

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The success of the Electronic Invoice

nfeSince the beginning of April, a new layout for issuing electronic invoices is in use. The new version includes minor changes in relation to the previous format, such as the identification of the destination of the operation and the creation of a specific issuing purpose for returning goods. Adjustments like these are made from time to time, always based on requests and suggestions from taxpayers and associations interested in the topic. The idea is that the routine improvement of the system makes it meet the needs of those who use it and adapt to the evolution of the business world.

The Electronic Invoice - or NF-e, as it is also known - was officially instituted in Brazil in 2006. At the time, the main objectives were to increase transparency and curb tax evasion more efficiently. "This is very important to hinder unfair competition strategies", says Eudaldo Almeida, general coordinator of the National Meeting of State Tax Coordinators and Administrators (Encat). This important role of the NF-e made the ETCO-Brazilian Institute of Ethical Competition to embrace the project since its beginning, providing technical and institutional support to several governments for the development of the systems, in addition to constant feedbacks for its improvement.

Over the almost ten years of NF-e's existence in Brazil, it is already possible to see a series of advantages that it brought both to the collecting agencies, as well as to taxpayers and society in general. The first and most obvious impact is that, with the reduction of the need to issue paper notes - often in five carbon tracks -, there is an immense environmental gain. Since the system was implemented, more than 11 billion electronic invoices have been issued, avoiding the consumption of an immense amount of paper. In addition to the environmental impact, all this paperwork would have to be kept for five years, which meant that many companies had to maintain warehouses dedicated exclusively to keeping these documents. "Especially for large companies, the costs of managing all this logistics were absurd", says Álvaro Bahia, technical coordinator of Encat and national leader of the Nota Fiscal Eletrônica. As digital documents, electronic invoices are also much easier to search and can contribute to better business management.

For the public authorities, the digitalization of the note issuing system also represents great gains. One of the main ones is the fact that it is now possible to conduct an electronic inspection and move employees only where there is a greater possibility of deviations. “The reduction in tax evasion is a consequence of the control established by the NF-e”, says Davi Leandro Ruiz, consultant at IOB Sage, a company that implements NF-e systems. "The taxpayer obliged to issue an NF-e that does not issue it can be easily identified and penalized."

This advance also has repercussions with taxpayers, who start to be notified with greater speed when it is found an error made involuntarily. Before the appearance of the NF-e, only when a supervisor went to the company's headquarters would the mistakes be discovered. “Good taxpayers often made involuntary mistakes over the years until they discovered the problem,” says Bahia. "It is now possible to discover and correct the route much more quickly."

The possibility of making a more efficient inspection, increasing the chances that everyone will walk according to the same rules is one of the main gains of NF-e. "The level of information today is much more detailed, which closes the siege against the tax evader," says Evandro Ávila, CEO of Taxweb, a consultancy specializing in electronic invoices. Ultimately, by making life difficult for those who intend to take advantage of tax evasion, digital note issuing systems are an important contribution to fair competition, ETCO's main objective. That is why the institute has always insisted on being present in the debates on the subject and assisting in the implementation of the systems by the collection agencies of different states. "It is a very important support for the consolidation of the project", says Almeida.

As the use of NF-e advances, the system should play an even more important role in the transparency of the business world, especially in its relationship with governments. Some states, such as Rio Grande do Sul, Amazonas and Bahia are already testing the use of information gathered through tax documents to improve their bidding processes. Instead of conducting market research to decide the purchase prices for public agencies, these states use price statistics registered in the NF-e system, thus avoiding the practice of abusive charges in public purchases. These advantages are so many that the government has been investing in expanding the system to the most diverse areas. “Today, NF-e is already used in sectors where great resistance was expected, such as the agricultural area,” says Ávila. One of the most recent advances is the process of implementing the electronic Consumer Invoice (NFC-e), which is taking place in several states and will bring the benefits of NF-e to the final consumer. “Electronic notes still have many contributions to make to the country”, concludes Almeida.

 

 The future of NF-e

The advancement of the electronic invoice can also contribute with several advances for the country. These are some of the points highlighted by the experts:

  • Integration: The NF-e is part of a series of other tax obligations that are also being digitized, such as Transport Communication, for example. The integration of these different systems should make tax evasion and other spurious practices even more difficult.
  • Simplification: The absence of issuing and keeping documents on paper makes it easier for companies to administer them. The analysis of the NF-e databases can also help in the construction of a simpler tax system, with a better adjustment of the taxpayer's obligations.
  • Indicators: By recording all commercial movements in the country, electronic invoice systems will allow the government to analyze in real time the behavior of the economy, replacing monthly or even annual indicators that today determine the conduct of economic policy.
  • Bids: The immense amount of data on prices in the bases of the collecting agencies has already been helping governments to improve their bidding processes. This practice is expected to become more common going forward.

 

NFC-e: 100 million emissions in 2014

nfce2014 was not the year in which the electronic invoice for consumers (NFC-e) reached the general public for good, but it has already registered considerable numbers of growth, reaching the mark of 100 million banknotes issued and 15 thousand accredited merchants.

The information is from Newton Oller, national leader of the NFC-e initiative, which was officially implemented in March 2014 and already reaches 15 states of the Federation. The mandatory calendar starts to apply in 2016 and will be established by each state.

Of the 27 federated units, only Santa Catarina has not yet chosen to implement the project. Companies from 15 states of the 26 that joined already issue the document: Acre, Amazonas, Sergipe, Maranhão, Rio Grande do Norte, Mato Grosso, Rio Grande do Sul, Pará, Paraíba, Rondônia, Roraima, Piauí, Paraná, Bahia and Rio de January.

However, most of these states still operate on an experimental basis, with few establishments using the novelty. The most advanced states in the process are Amazonas, Mato Grosso and Rio Grande do Sul.

Source: Baguette (06/01)

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Electronic Invoice will be mandatory in April in Porto Alegre

The electronic services invoice (NFS-e), also called Legal Note Porto Alegre, was launched on Monday by Mayor José Fortunati and by the municipal secretary of Finance, Jorge Tonetto. The initiative, according to the secretary, will allow taxpayers of the Tax on Services of Any Nature (ISSQN) to issue the invoice in the municipality with more agility, security, cost reduction, in addition to facilitating inspection by the secretariat.

 

(Source: Felipe Vieira - Jornalismo On Line | 18/11)

 

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