States publish new agreement with rules for ICMS tax rate on gasoline and cooking gas

The National Council for Finance Policy (Confaz) published a new agreement with rules for calculating the ICMS rate on gasoline and cooking gas.

The publication of the new agreement in the Federal Official Gazette with these rules responds to a decision by Minister André Mendonça, of the Federal Supreme Court, within the scope of a lawsuit that discusses an act of Confaz on the subject.

The states were trying to buy more time to comply with this decision, but sources interviewed by CNN say the minister did not intend to extend that deadline in favor of the states.

CNN found that the Confaz act meets most of the decision of Minister André Mendonça. The minister is the rapporteur of one of the actions that are being processed in the Supreme and which concern the ICMS rate on fuels. There are other actions under the rapporteurship of ministers Gilmar Mendes and Rosa Weber.

Under the new rule, the calculation basis for gasoline and cooking gas becomes the moving average of the average prices charged to final consumers in the 60 months prior to their establishment, as determined by Mendonça. The rules go into effect from this Friday (1st) and go until September 30th.

On the night of this Thursday (30), the Conpeg (National College of Attorneys General of the States and the Federal District) had formalized a request to Mendonça to be given a period of 30 more days for this definition.

On June 17, the STF minister decided that the ICMS fuel rates should be uniform throughout the national territory and stipulated a series of measures that must be observed by the states and by Petrobras.

At the time, Mendonça complied with a request from the federal government and suspended an agreement with the National Council for Finance Policy (Confaz) on the subject. By the minister’s decision, until another rule is edited by Confaz, the tax calculation basis for all fuels will be fixed by the average prices practiced in the last 60 months.

The deadline set by Mendonça for this rule to take effect is as of this Friday (1st). In the case of diesel, Conpeg stated that the decision has already been implemented based on an agreement published at the end of June.

Conpeg alleged that there was an attempt at conciliation in another lawsuit under the rapporteurship of Minister Gilmar Mendes and that the federal government had requested another 30 days to respond to the suggestions made by the states. Despite this request for a longer period, the states decided to publish the agreement .