After the Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) André Mendonça suspended a maneuver by the states to maintain the collection of ICMS on diesel, the state finance secretaries met this Saturday (14) to discuss how to reverse the problem.
In an online and closed meeting, Comsefaz (National Committee of Secretaries of the Treasury) accepted the minister’s decision.
But he informed, in a note released after the meeting, that the secretaries seek “to find the best solution, that is, the one that is in fact in accordance with the constitutional guidelines, respecting the autonomy of the States and contributing to the control of fuel prices, the greatest yearning of the Brazilian population”.
The secretaries say that this solution should also be discussed with the attorneys general of the states, responsible for making the legal defense of governments.
In this Friday’s decision (13), Mendonça suspended in a preliminary (provisional) way clauses of a rule contrary to the law that established a single ICMS rate on diesel oil for all states, in reais per liter, charged only in the of production.
He responded to a request from President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), presented through the AGU (Advocacy-General of the Union), which was trying to guarantee the reduction of ICMS on fuel provided for in a law passed by Congress in March.
This law provided for a transition period, until the end of the year, in which states should set a rate equivalent to the average of the last 60 months, which would represent a drop in the current tax burden on fuel.
But, in a meeting at the end of March, Confaz (National Council of Finance Policy) decided to establish a single rate of R$ 1.006 per litre, allowing each state to give a discount to reach its current rate.
In practice, therefore, there was no change in the amount charged by state governments, which have been recording ICMS tax collection records on fuel. A price survey released this Friday showed that the price of diesel at pumps hit a record again in the country.
Confaz is formed by the 26 states, the Federal District and the Ministry of Economy.
Comsefaz, which represents the Secretaries of Finance, argues that the definition of a new single rate in reais per liter eliminated the need for the transition period, in which the collection should be based on the average value of the PMPF (weighted average price to the consumer end) of the last 60 months.
“So far, states have already waived BRL 15.9 billion with the freezing of the PMPF between November 2021 and April 2022 and, if the measure is extended until December this year, the reduction of state budgets will be BRL 37 .1 billion,” the committee said in a note.
“Which means that, for the period, the federative entities are giving up about three and a half months of all fuel collection. These losses are shared with the municipalities, which also fail to receive 25% of ICMS.”
The rise in fuel prices is one of the factors that most puts pressure on inflation, a problem that worries President Jair Bolsonaro in an election year. A Datafolha survey showed that 68% of Brazilians consider the representative responsible for the rise in prices.
On Thursday (11), the president said during his live that he would go to court to reduce fuel prices. The statement came the same week that Petrobras readjusted the price of diesel and Admiral Bento Albuquerque was replaced by economist Adolfo Sachsida, a longtime ally of the president, at the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
Mendonça’s decision is valid as of now, but it was sent for the 11 members of the court to also analyze the case. There is no date yet for this to happen, however.
Earlier this Friday night, during an event in Campos do Jordão (SP), Bolsonaro commented on the decision of the STF minister.
“There [no STF] I have two ministers nominated by me, so the chance is 20%. Heavenly Father helped us,” he said, referring to the fact that the action fell with Mendonça.
“Today [sexta] in the morning we filed the lawsuit, it fell with the minister André Mendonça, and with total exemption, he granted the injunction. So the ICMS on diesel has to be uniform throughout Brazil. There will be no more, I hope the plenary will ratify this, each state will have a percentage and also give you predictability in reducing their value “, he said.
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