On October 18, 2017, the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service published Instruction ("RFB IN") No. 1751, which deals with granting powers of attorney for the purposes of using services available through the Virtual Taxpayer Assistance system ("e-CAC") on behalf of grantor.  E-CAC is RFB's virtual environment where several services are available to taxpayers, including filing petitions and administrative defenses. Said power of attorney may be granted in the following modalities:

  • RFB Power of Attorney: Power of attorney issued through the application available on the RFB website http://rfb.gov.br, when the principal does not have a digital certificate. The power of attorney must be printed, signed and presented to RFB within 30 days. RFB will validate it after having reviewed the parties' identification and agency documents.
  • Electronic Power of Attorney: Power of attorney issued through e-CAC, when the principal and the agent both hold a digital certificate. It is not necessary to go to RFB in person to have it validated.

The taxpayer has the option of "Restricting the Power of Attorney" to limit the authority granted therein to specific digital cases or digital dossiers. Powers of attorney will be valid for 5 years, unless a shorter term is established therein, and delegation of authority is not permitted. They may be cancelled through the application available on the RFB's website or at an RFB office.

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.