Trading companies continue to challenge in court the collection of the Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS tax) for the interstate transport of grains destined for export in Pará, where the ports of Barcarena and Santarém are located, important for soy shipments. The most recent decision on the case was favorable to the companies that rely on a section of the Federal Constitution to justify the exemption from the tax. The legal dispute arose in 2001 when legislation in Pará established the levy of tax for the transport of cargo destined for export. As it is a state tax, it is up to each Brazilian state to define rates and activities on which ICMS is levied. But lawyers Celso Grisi and Thais Azevedo, from the Tauil & Checker law firm, claim that article 155 of the Constitution and Complementary Law 87/1996 – the “Kandir Law” – prohibit the charging of export-related operations and, therefore, the law of a state could not supersede the federal one. With this argument, many trading companies won in court the right not to pay the tax since 2008. “The main trading companies started using Arco Norte to transport their products from the Midwest due to the high cost of transport to Santos. This turned into a dilemma because the states invested in logistical infrastructure, but they charge a tax that makes it unfeasible”, says Grisi, noting that Maranhão and Piauí have similar practices.
Sources: Money Times/Datamar News