Bolsonaro launches food donation program in exchange for ICMS exemption

Pressured by hunger and inflation, President Jair Bolsonaro (no party) announced this Thursday (11) a food donation program by companies, with ICMS exemption in return.

There is no restriction on donations, but the program must have, in its majority, those foods that are close to the expiration date.

This is because companies do not pay a tax on logistics in the incineration of products that can no longer be consumed, and can donate them, without paying ICMS, before the deadline.

“What was the complaint that the productive sector shared with us? I have to have an employee just to fill out all this paperwork, send it to the ministry, [para o] official go there to check, stamp. So, such a process with food that was becoming perishable,” said minister João Roma (Citizenship) at the ceremony at Planalto Palace.

According to him, “it is clear” that there is no shortage of food in the country. “A lot of it [fome no Brasil] it is in the dysfunctions of the bureaucracy.”

There will not be any differentiated scheme to inspect the quality of the products. The program will only be under inspection by federal, state and municipal bodies, such as health surveillance and consumer protection.

“What are we dealing with? To be able to be offering these products that would simply be destroyed, and they are obviously still before their expiration date, available to this population.”

According to the folder, there are more than 200 food banks in the country.

The Alimentos no Prato program works as a kind of platform, linking interested companies and food bank institutions. The announcement was attended by President Jair Bolsonaro, ministers and the president of Caixa Econômica Federal, Pedro Guimarães.

“[Por meio] of this collegiate [Confaz, Conselho Nacional de Política Fazendária], we managed to update the regulations so that it was really clear that, instead of assigning this product, [se] If this product is delivered to this food bank network, the industry will also be exempt from taxes, including ICMS,” said Roma.

Although the announcement was made in Planalto, the tax exemption is statewide. It has been in effect since July 8th. Until October, according to the government, more than R$ 42 million in food value had already been donated with the measure.

A survey by the Brazilian Research Network on Food and Nutritional Sovereignty and Security (Rede Pensan) showed, in December 2020, that more than half of Brazilians (55%) suffered from some type of food exemption (severe, moderate or light).

The survey, conducted by researchers who validated the Brazilian Scale of Food Security used by the IBGE in the country, sought to follow up on surveys carried out by the state agency, carried out every four years, as an annex to the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) and Survey of Family Budgets (POF).

Carried out in 1,662 urban and 518 rural households, the survey brought these numbers before the inflationary spike in recent months — which must have aggravated the situation.

In addition, one year before the election, Bolsonaro is struggling with rising inflation, which puts pressure on food prices. The IPCA (Extended National Consumer Price Index) for October, released on Wednesday (10), rose 1.25%, above market projections.

The rate is the highest for October since 2022, according to the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).

As a result, inflation accumulated in 12 months remains above double digits, reaching 10.67%.

Products and services should remain under pressure in the short term, amid a context of high dollar, fiscal uncertainties and recovery in the services sector.

The picture brings the risk of inflation spreading even further across the economy, at least until the start of 2022, compromising the performance of economic activity, analysts point out.