The State of São Paulo is granting a new opportunity to ICMS taxpayers to pay tax debts with relevant reductions upon interest and penalties.
On January 09, the State of São Paulo published Decree No. 61,788/16, which modified the Decree No. 61,625/15, to extend the term to enroll in the Special Program for payment of tax debts related to ICM and ICMS until February 29, 2016, with reduction upon interests and penalties applied upon tax debts arising from tax triggering events occurred until December 31, 2014.
Said benefits apply to debts whether assessed or not, and also if registered in the State's debtors list or not, including those that are already being collected in judicial courts through a tax collection lawsuit. The updated amount of the debts may be paid with the following discounts:
I. for payment in a lump sum: 75% discount over the penalties (punitive and late payment) and 60% discount over the interest; or
II. for payment in up to 120 installments, not lower than BRL 500.00: 50% discount of penalties (punitive and late payment) and 40% of interest, considering the following:
a. up to 24 installments, a 1% monthly financial surcharge will apply;
b. from 25 to 60 installments, a 1.40% monthly financial surcharge will apply;
c. from 61 to 120 installments, a 1.80% monthly financial surcharge will apply.
Concerning to debts claimed by means of tax assessments, which are not registered in the State's debtors list, the discounts above apply cumulatively to the following discounts over the updated punitive penalties amounts:
1. 70% for payment made in a lump sum upon enrollment in the Program within 15 days, counted as from the receipt of the tax assessment;
2. 60% for payment made in a lump sum upon enrollment in the Program within between 16 and 30 days, counted as from the receipt of the infraction notice;
3. 45% for the remaining cases.
The Program also authorizes the payment of debts arising from transactions performed by taxpayers that are under irregular registration status before the State Treasury Department. In this case, the debt must be paid in a lump sum; it may be included in the installment payment program only if it is already registered in the State's debtors list and being collected in judicial courts through a tax collection lawsuit.
Moreover, it is possible to use ICMS accumulated credits and ICMS that is pending reimbursement to settle the debts enrolled in the amnesty program, as foreseen by Joint Resolution SF/PGE 01/2015.
The enrollment provided in Decree No. 65,625/15 requires the irrevocable and irretrievable waiver and dismissal of any disputes connected with the debts included in the Program.
We are available to discuss the details of the Program, as well as to evaluate the convenience of enrollment in such Program.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
