ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

Action taken by IBAMA staff is valid even before the passing of Law nº 11.357/2006

According to a ruling of the 1st Panel of the STJ, middle-ranking technical staff at the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), may hand out fines in cases of administrative acts harmful the environment, even if the act offence occurred prior to the passing of Law nº 11.357/2006, which broadened the powers of the environmental staff to include an environmental policing role. Justice Francisco Falcão remarked that Article 70, § 1º, of Law nº 9,605/1998 stated that technical staff had the power of inspection and that this had not been overruled by Law nº 10,410/2002. This ruling, according to the justice, is also in accord with Law nº 11,516/2007, which amended Law n. 10.410/2002 extending the powers of technical staff to include the issuing of judicial records of offences. (Resp 1.057.292- PR)

ABRIDGMENTS

 

Higher Court of Justice

349. – The Federal Justice or the judges to whom this body has delegated authority are responsible for ruling in cases of tax owed by an employer to the FGTS (Social Security Fund). 
350. - The ICMS tax is not payable on installation of cell phone services. 
351. – The rate for Insurance against Accidents at Work (SAT) is determined by the degree of risk involved in each company, as identified by its CNPJ, or by the degree of risk involved in said company’s main activity in cases where there is only a register. 
352. – Acquisition or renewal of a Charitable Social Assistance Organization (CEBAS) does not exempt the organization from compliance with the attendant legal requirements. 
353. – The provisions of the National Tax Code does not apply to contributions to the FGTS (Social Security Fund). 
354. – Invasion of a property is due cause for the suspension of expropriation proceedings for the purposes of agrarian reform.
355. – Notification of exclusion from the REFIS tax recovery system is valid if carried out either through the Official Federal Daily Register or by way of the Internet.
356. – It is lawful to levy a basic charge for the use of fixed-line telephone services. 
357. – At the request of the customer, who will meet the costs, it has been obligatory as of 1 January 2006, to provide an itemized list of excess pulses and calls from a fixed-line to a cellular telephone.

 

Federal Supreme Court

Binding Judicial Precedent nº 7: The application of the law as laid out in § 3º of Article 192 of the Constitution, revoked by Constitutional Amendment nº 40/2003, which limited the real-term interest rate to 12% a year, is now conditioned by a complementary law.

Binding Judicial Precedent nº 8: The single paragraph of Article 5º of Decree Law 1569/77 and Articles 45 and 46 of Law 8,212/91, which deal with the limitation or laches of tax credit are declared to be unconstitutional.

Binding Judicial Precedent nº 9: Article 127 of Law 7,210/84 was received by the constitutional law of that time and the time limit laid out in the heading of Article 58 does not apply to it.

Binding Judicial Precedent nº 10: The decision of a partial court body, that, although it does not expressly state the unconstitutionality according to law or decree of the Public Authorities, suspends it in full or in part, violates the reserve clause of the full court (Federal Constitution, Art. 97).

TAX LAW

Tax incentive law for the tourist sector published
Law 11,727, published in the Official Publication of the Federation on 24.6.2008, lays out tax measures designed to stimulate investment in and modernization of the tourist sector and to reinforce Brazilian tax protection, by establishing that the Contribution to the PIS/PASEP and the Contribution for Social Security Funding – COFINS be confined to the production and sale of alcohol.

“Off-the-shelf” software is not exempt from taxation

The Federal Inland Revenue has recognized that the Contribution to Intervention in the Economic Domain (CIDE) and Income Tax are not payable on the sale of multiple copies of software. (D.O.U  - Dispute Ruling nº 27).

 

Broadening the concept of a tax haven
The conversion of Provisional Measure nº 413 into nº 11,727/08, altering Article 24 of Law nº 9.430, has broadened the legal concept of a tax haven for the purposes of tax-collection by the Inland. With the advent of this law, it is possible to classify specific regions and operations as relating to a tax haven. The measure prevents operations in countries or regions that do not permit access to list of shareholders in companies from also paying more tax.

STF reduces the Department of Social Security’s time limit for collecting contributions

The Federal Supreme Court (STF) has reduced to five years the time limit for the Department of Social Security to collect social security contributions. The Supreme Court has declared Articles 45 and 46 of Law 8,212/91, which establish a time limit of ten years to be unconstitutional. (Binding Judicial Precedent nº 8 of the STF).

TRIGUEIRO FONTES re-opens office in Natal 
As part of our on-going effort to build up our network of offices in Brazil, Trigueiro Fontes Advogados has reopened its regional office in the city of Natal. The firm now has nine offices in various State capitals across the country (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Salvador, Fortaleza, Recife, and now Natal). The lawyer responsible for the new office is Carlos Rosemberg, who has headed the Porto Alegre office for three years, and also worked in Recife and Fortaleza.

TRIGUEIRO FONTES participates in Invest Northeast 2008
Trigueiro Fontes Advogados was present at Invest Northeast 2008. Our partners, Ana Carolina F. de Melo Brito and Daniela Braga Guimarães took part in the event, which brought together key figures in the real estate and tourist industry in Europe and Brazil. It was held at the Recife Convention Center, between the 28th and 30th of May, which has become a point of reference for the entry of foreign investment into the Northeast region of Brazil.