On June 15, 2022, the Chamber of Deputies approved the amendments presented by the Federal Senate in Complementary Bill (PLP) No. 18/2022, which amends Complementary Law No. 87/1996, imposing a limit of 17% on the Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS) levied on essential goods and services, such as electricity, telecommunications, fuels and public transportation. The text awaits presidential sanction.
The intention of PLP No. 18/2022 was to reduce taxation on items considered essential, in compliance with the Principle of Selectivity, set forth in Art. 153, § 3, item I of the Federal Constitution, which determines that taxation must be selective, considering the essentiality of the product. Thus, electricity and fuels, for example, are not considered equivalent to other superfluous products, such as alcoholic beverages and perfumes. The project was even inspired by the judgment of Theme No. 745 of General Repercussion by the Federal Supreme Court (STF), which ruled that the ICMS rate on electricity was unconstitutional. the rate set on operations in general.
Regarding the electric power sector, the project foresees an important change in Article 3 of Complementary Law No. 87/1996, eliminating the incidence of ICMS for transmission and distribution services and sectoral charges linked to operations with electric power. The zero rate was also foreseen for operations of any nature that result in the transfer of movable assets saved from loss to insurance companies.
The Complementary Bill also provides for a series of tax benefits for the fuel sector, until the end of 2022, such as the implementation of the zero rate of PIS and COFINS levied on the sale or import of Natural Gas for Vehicles and on the import of ethanol, including for fuel purposes, and of PIS, COFINS and CIDE-Fuels in operations involving gasoline and its chains, except for aviation, and ethanol, even for fuel purposes.
Finally, PLP 18/2022 also provided for the granting of presumed PIS and COFINS credit, including imports, for companies that purchase gasoline and its chains (except aviation gasoline); diesel oil and its chains; aviation kerosene; liquefied petroleum gas - LPG and natural gas; biodiesel; and ethanol for use as input, prohibited by Provisional Measure No. 1,118/2022.
