Program exempts taxes such as imports, IPI and Pis/Cofins, among other benefits, for the production of chips and photovoltaics.| Photo: José Cruz/Agência Brasil

The federal government confirmed this Wednesday (29) the expansion of the Support Program for the Technological Development of the Semiconductor Industry (PADIS) to include the production segment of photovoltaic solar energy in the exemption of taxes such as imports, IPI and Pis/Cofins, among others. benefits. The initiative covered, until then, only the exemption of semiconductor chips and microelectronic components (see in full) .

According to the government, the impact of the benefits will be more than R$ 600 million for both categories this year. According to the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, the semiconductor industry earns BRL 3 billion a year, but cannot meet the internal demand for the component.

The expectation is that updating and expanding PADIS will encourage investment in new production lines. Data from 2019, the latest available, indicate that the collection of other federal taxes was BRL 59.2 million, which can be increased by increasing the manufacture of components.