On May 5, 2015, the Minister for the Environment approved Ordinance No. 100 ("Ordinance") extending to May 4, 2016 the deadline for persons who possess or own rural land to register with the Rural Environmental Registry ("CAR") which was established in the New Forestry Code (Federal Law No. 12,651/2012).
CAR was introduced by the New Forestry Code to promote environmental regulation of rural land. It is a public registry system in which the owner and possessor of rural land must certify their intent to comply with environmental regulations related to their rural property. If the rural land owner or possessor fails to become compliant with environmental regulations they will be subject to administrative, civil and criminal liabilities.
According to information provided by the Ministry for the Environment, 1,407,206 rural properties have been registered with CAR since the New Forestry Code became effective. This number covers an area of 196,767,410 hectares and represents 52% of all rural areas in Brazil for which registration with CAR is mandatory.
Pursuant to the New Forestry Code, commercial banks will be required to request rural land owners and possessors to provide proof of registration with CAR before granting agricultural land loans. This requirement shall become effective on May, 2017.
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