CARF decides which port expenses generate credits

Companies operating in foreign trade obtained a favorable precedent in the final and unappealable ruling by CARF (the administrative council of tax appeals) for using PIS (social integration program fund) and COFINS (social security financing fund) credits generated through port expenses. Ingredion, which works with the milling of corn and other vegetables for the industry, managed to reverse a tax charge by using credits for loading and unloading cargo, forwarding agents, and storage.

The decision is made by the 3rd Panel of the High Court of CARF. According to lawyers, most administrative court judgments on the matter do not side with the taxpayer. “The High Court is vacillating in relation to the possibility of crediting”, says Diogo Martins Teixeira, a partner at the Machado Meyer law firm.

In February, for example, the same group denied the taking of credit for port expenses during the export of alcohol and sugar by Cosan. At the time, most board members understood that these expenses would not be inputs capable of generating credit. This is because they are done after the merchandise production process has ended (process No. 13888.002438/2004-7).

The Internal Revenue Service does not recognize these credits and fines the taxpayer for considering that expenditure on port services occurs before or after the production process. Thus, they would not be directly related to the manufacture of goods or the provision of services.

Source: Valor Econômico

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https://valor.globo.com/legislacao/noticia/2021/06/14/carf-decide-que-despesas-portuarias-geram-creditos.ghtml

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