Panel SA: States approve ICMS increase in record time

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Piauí and Sergipe approved, this Wednesday (7), the increase in the ICMS rate, but the rules are so confusing that companies say they don’t know how to apply them. The vote in the Sergipe assembly took place in record time – the text was sent on the night of this Tuesday (6) and voted on Wednesday. In Piauí, it was also fast.

The rate increase in Sergipe was from 18% to 22%, but the text does not say for which sectors. The idea was to cover the gap left by the reduction in the fuel tax.

In Piauí, the standard rate went from 18% to 21%. For alcoholic beverages, there was an increase from 25% to 27%. In the basic basket, it fell from 12% to 7%. The project was presented on Monday (5) and approved in the early afternoon of this Wednesday.

Pará and Paraná also articulate similar projects.

The ICMS on fuel, telecommunications and energy represented a 30% collection for the states and was reduced at the request of President Jair Bolsonaro to reduce prices and inflation during the election period. It was up to Congress to pass a bill.

In Sergipe, Governor Belivaldo Chagas (PSD) sent the text on Tuesday night (6) and an urgent request accelerated the processing of the text. To Panel SA, the leader of the government in the Legislative Assembly, Zezinho Sobral (PDT), stated that the increase will focus on items reduced by the government.

He said that the Sergipe executive followed the understanding of the Comsefaz (National Committee of State Treasury Secretaries). A collegiate study, presented in the bill, points out that the states will lose R$ 33 billion next year if the rates are not readjusted.

Governments will have until the end of this legislative year to approve tax increases for 2023, which would explain the rush in voting on the text. The readjustment takes effect 90 days after the enactment of the law.

Sobral says that the federal government applied a general “default” by not recovering losses with the reduced ICMS and the states were left with no alternative. If the issue wins an agreement in the coming days with a discussion mediated by the STF (Federal Supreme Court), the law may be revoked.

Contrary to the theme, deputy Georgeo Passos (Citizenship) stated that not even the deputies themselves know which sectors will be affected. The local government, he says, has rushed to prevent people from understanding what is happening and who will pay the bill is the consumer.

In Piauí there was negotiation. As soon as the project was sent to the Legislative Assembly, companies rushed to find a solution that would not reach prices in supermarkets.

Julio Wiziack (interim) with Paulo Ricardo Martins and Diego Felix

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