Put Christian Rosa and Mariana Martins – 24/03/2020
The Special Secretariat of the Federal Revenue of Brazil and the Attorney General's Office of the National Treasury, through Joint Ordinance No. 555, of 03/23/2020, extended by 90 days the validity of Certificates of Clearance of Debts related to Federal Tax Credits and the Federal Government's Active Debt (CND) and Positive Certificates with Effects of Clearance of Debts related to Federal Tax Credits and the Federal Government's Active Debt (CPEND). It should be noted that the regulation in question did not follow the guideline established by MP 927/2020, published yesterday, which established the extension of joint RFB/PGFN certificates for 180 days, and not for 90.
The rule applies only to certificates valid at the time of publication of Joint Ordinance No. 555, on 03/24/2020, in which case the validity of the document will extend for the period mentioned above (90 days), counting from the term initially defined when the CND or CPEND was issued.
The certificates whose effectiveness was extended by the regulation, in view of the crisis resulting from the COVID-19 epidemic, are fundamental for the activity of some business companies.
Among those that contract with the Public Authorities, certificates are required in bidding processes as part of the qualification, as a means of demonstrating tax regularity, as provided for in article 27, item IV, of Law No. 8,666/93, the General Law on Public Tenders and Administrative Contracts.
During the execution of contracts with the Union, State or Municipalities, companies are contractually obliged to maintain the conditions of regularity before the National Treasury, and therefore must maintain valid certificates, as a result of the wording of article 55, item XIII, of the same Law. This obligation becomes extremely relevant considering that the Courts of Auditors have determined that the maintenance of valid certificates is a requirement for the payment of installments, due to private agents, for works and services made available to the Public Authority.