The Tax Appeals Office of the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service ruled in favor of an appeal filed against a customs fine notice, issued for the collection of an alleged difference in the amount of taxes paid less than due on imported goods.
The decision that favored an importing company sponsored by DB Tesser and exonerated nearly R$ 2,000,000.00 (two million reais) in customs fines was based on the necessary observance of the sequential order established in article 88 of Provisional Measure No. 2,58-35/2001 and the strict concept of similarity for the search for products exported to the country.
The disregard for the conditions stipulated in the legal provision occurred due to the use of an incorrect method of assessment – merchandise appraisals based on minimum manufacturing costs for the goods in question, contrary to the assumptions established in the current regulatory standard; a fact that was correctly recognized by the Federal Revenue Service in its final ruling.
In short, the aforementioned sequential order could only be disregarded if the use of the precursor parameters was demonstrably impossible. In other words, the Tax Authority should have expressly demonstrated this impossibility.
For this reason, the assistance of a specialized law firm is indispensable for the accurate investigation of arbitrary actions often perpetrated by Customs Inspection.
For more information, contact our team!
Decision commented on by Bárbara Melro Seabra, Lawyer, graduated in Law in 2016 from the Catholic University of Santos / SP, Specialist in Customs / Tax Law.
Brazilian Bar Association number 430.011
