Government inspection to assess imported milk use in Brazil

Brazil’s official animal product inspection service will oversee whether dairy companies and cooperatives participating in the Healthy Milk Program comply with the instruction of not using imported products to access tax benefits.

Companies enrolled in the program must use only domestically produced milk during processing to qualify for up to 50% of presumed PIS and Cofins credits.

The tax offset will be limited to 20% for industries whose dairy imports are verified. In case of non-compliance, firms may lose the benefit for three months.

The initiative targets the high imports of powdered milk from Mercosur countries that affected the national dairy sector in 2023. The decree instituting a cap to the benefit, published in October last year, took effect in February.

According to a decree issued by the Ministry of Agriculture on March 7th, the official animal product inspection services will inspect the origin and conformity of inputs used in the processing of products by any firms, including cooperatives, that are Healthy Milk Program beneficiaries.

“Legally instituted firms or cooperatives enrolled in the Healthy Milk Program must comply with the requirement of only processing dairy products out of raw milk or dairy derivatives, being subject, in case of non-compliance, to a three-month suspension from the benefits program,” says the decree.

In case of confirmed non-compliance claims, the official services must inform the state agricultural superintendencies within ten days. These units must then inform the Federal Revenue about the irregularities found, for due changes in the tax collection regime.

Source: Globo Rural

Click here to read the original text in Portuguese: https://globorural.globo.com/pecuaria/leite/noticia/2024/03/governo-vai-fiscalizar-se-laticinios-usam-leite-importado.ghtml

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