Haddad chooses tax auditor to lead the Revenue’s administrative court

The Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad (PT), chose the tax auditor Carlos Higino Ribeiro de Alencar to head the Carf (Administrative Council of Tax Appeals), an administrative court that judges tax conflicts between the Federal Revenue Service and taxpayers.

CARF has been placed by the minister as a central piece in the revenue recovery strategy to reduce the R$ 231 billion deficit projected for this year.

The economic team discusses a menu of measures that increase revenue and reduce expenses, generating an impact of up to R$ 223 billion on public accounts. One of the items on the list is precisely an “extraordinary incentive to reduce litigiousness in CARF”. The potential is estimated at R$ 53.77 billion.

Haddad established as one of the priorities to improve the governance of CARF, which accumulates a growing backlog of litigation. In 2019, the amount awaiting judgment was BRL 600 billion. At the end of last year, the amount exceeded R$ 1.2 trillion.

The perception is that Haddad should seek structural measures to speed up the analysis of processes.

In an interview with Sheetthe Secretary of the National Treasury, Rogério Ceron, stated that the discussion about the Carf is “super important”, given that the value of the stock awaiting judgment has doubled in a short period of time.

“As long as these credits are not judged, they are not enforceable. [O estoque] It is very concentrated in high groups, with high values. In theory, it can serve as a cheap form of financing, because while it doesn’t judge it, it manages to roll over that debt at a symbolic rate and much better than the market. And then, many times, there is still the appeal in the Judiciary, “he said.

“Having a quick solution for Carf is essential from the point of view of the tax management cycle. The PGFN [Procuradoria-Geral da Fazenda Nacional] and the Federal Revenue are studying forms of simplification, modernization, forms of stimuli to reduce litigiousness. This is a fundamental issue,” he said.

Ceron observed that, in the last three years, the stock of credits under discussion at CARF grew by BRL 600 billion —almost three times the value of the deficit programmed for this year. enough to cover the entire deficit for the year.”

Chosen by Haddad to take over Carf, Higino is a career tax auditor, was interim minister and executive secretary of the CGU (Comptroller General of the Union) and director of the Special Secretariat of the Federal Revenue. He also served as chairman of the Audit Committee of Serpro and of the brokerage of Banco Regional de Brasília (BRB).

He holds a degree in economics from the University of São Paulo and in law from the Federal University of Ceará. He has a master’s degree in constitutional law from the Brazilian Institute of Teaching, Development and Research-IDP and a doctorate in law from the University Center of Brasília.