In the course of legal proceedings sponsored by the law firm DB Tesser Sociedade de Advogados, the 6th Federal Civil Court of the Judicial Section of the Federal District, in a decision issued on September 9, 2022, determined – as an urgent measure – that the registration status of the foreign trade operator company in the CNPJ (Brazilian National Registry of Legal Entities) be immediately reactivated, suspending all direct and indirect effects of the Tax Administrative Process, thus enabling the regular continuation of its commercial activities.
The company sought judicial relief immediately after being wrongly deemed ineligible due to its registration being deemed invalid. The Tax Authority determined that the origin of the funds used by the importer in carrying out its business activities had not been proven.
Despite the declared ineligibility during the tax representation process, it was found that the position adopted by the Administration occurred even before the final judgment of the administrative tax process that served as the basis for the declaration of ineligibility, within which the merits of the specific case are being discussed.
As expected, the Judiciary ordered the reactivation of the CNPJ (Brazilian taxpayer identification number) as a precautionary measure, in order to guarantee the exhaustion of the right to a full defense in the administrative sphere regarding the alleged irregularities committed against the company, since the ineligibility of the registration status would reflect a high risk of losing the object of the action, as well as an irreversible capital punishment.
Therefore, it is essential to have the support of a specialized legal team to avoid cases of abuse perpetrated by the Administration against companies operating in foreign trade, thus preventing the paralysis of economic activity and any further losses that may occur.
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Decision commented on by Gian Lucca Jorri, Lawyer, graduated in Law in 2016 from the Catholic University of Santos / SP., Specialist in Customs and Tax Law.
OAB/SP No. 404.759
