Congress overturns part of the Lula government’s vetoes on the Carf Law

This Thursday (14), the National Congress overturned five vetoes made by the acting president, Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), in the law that changes rules on tax disputes between the federal government and taxpayers in the Administrative Council of Tax Appeals (Carf). With the parliamentarians’ decision, the government will only be able to access the amounts given as guarantee by Treasury debtors after the final court decision, that is, when there is no further appeal.

But the rule will only apply to guarantees in surety bonds or bank guarantees. Overturning the vetoes was only possible after an agreement between the government base and the opposition. Another 20 vetoes by the Presidency of the Republic to the Carf Law (14,689/2023) were maintained by senators and deputies, reported the Senate Agency. The law is the result of Bill (PL) 2,384/2023, approved by the Senate in August with a report by senator Otto Alencar (PSD-BA). With the veto, Alckmin hoped to preserve the tax collection capacity in this type of action.

Currently, if a company that owes the government hires a financial institution or insurance company to guarantee this payment and is ordered by a court to pay the amount due, it could already be executed by the Treasury even if it filed an appeal with the Superior Court of Justice (STJ). , with the possibility of being acquitted. Because, normally, processing in higher courts does not have a suspensive effect on the decision in your appeals. With the rejection of the veto, execution can only occur with a definitive conviction.

Furthermore, Congress returned to the text the cancellation of fines that exceed 100% of the value of the calculated tax credit. The change, made by parliamentarians before the project became law, took into account a decision by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) that limited the amount of collection of excessive fines as it considered them “confiscation to the taxpayer”.

When the section is sanctioned, the Attorney General’s Office of the National Treasury will arrange, on its own, the immediate cancellation of the registration in active debt of the entire amount of fine that exceeds double the value, regardless of provocation by the taxpayer. You will also be required to communicate the cancellation of ongoing tax foreclosures.

Taxpayers who have already paid a fine that exceeds this 100% percentage can recover the amount. To do so, you must be within the deadline set by law to file a lawsuit. If you receive a favorable sentence, you will receive the amount through a court order or offset against taxes to be paid. Parliamentarians also overturned the veto on administrative procedures before the Ministry of Finance relating to the Salary Variation Compensation Fund (FCVS).