Ometto unlocks Brecheret’s work and personal assets – 07/13/2023 – Panel SA

Billionaire Rubens Ometto, one of the controlling shareholders of Cosan and Raízen (Shell), managed to reverse the listing of his assets by the Federal Revenue for a pending tax debt resulting from the purchase of control of Comgás (Companhia de Gás de São Paulo).

In the declaration of assets attached to the process, there is a sculpture by Victor Brecheret called “O Beijo”, declared for R$ 80 thousand in the 2021 Income Tax.

The artist made some examples of this work using different materials, including its most finished version, in bronze.

Market agents sell these pieces for between R$150,000 and R$350,000, according to the column’s findings from different galleries in São Paulo, where Brecheret had his studio.

The listing is a survey of the debtor taxpayer’s assets authorized by the Court. Assets may only be sold or otherwise disposed of with prior notice to the tax authorities.

The Revenue collects an alleged debt of R$802 million, which has been contested and is awaiting judgment by Carf, the tax appeals council.

The debit refers to the acquisition of controlling interest in Comgás, whose set-up operation generated tax savings and was considered fraudulent by the tax authorities.

Ometto and other administrators were considered jointly responsible for the debt in the acquisition of control of Comgás and, therefore, targets of the measure.

According to the Revenue, a 60% stake in the company was acquired by Cosan, in 2017, through a vehicle company solely to avoid paying taxes.

When consulted, the businessman did not give details about the work, specifically its value.

In his defense to Justice, Ometto complained about the tax authorities for creating a series of difficulties with the measure.
Among them, he listed the lack of interest of buyers in his goods, the devaluation of assets, the crisis of confidence with creditors and the increase in the cost of credit.

Through its advisory, Cosan stated that the group’s executives were unduly included in the tax assessment notice and that, in order to overturn the blockage of the assets, the agency accepted a surety bond.

In the recent decision, the Third Panel of the TRF-3 upheld the appeals of the businessman and other executives and overturned the restrictions on a bank guarantee presented by Comgás.

With Diego Felix

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