By Tatiana Fernandez and Rodrigo Bizarria

The Federal Revenue of Brazil, the body responsible for managing the Customs and Tax Administration at a national level, promotes constant improvements in its inspection apparatus and in the tools made available to taxpayers. In this sense, it implemented its own website in 1996, having created, in 2005, the Virtual Taxpayer Assistance Center (e-CAC), which was recently announced to be replaced by a new Services Portal.

Until then, the organization’s service was provided exclusively in person, requiring prior scheduling, which sometimes resulted in a wait of months, depending on the location. The e-CAC was the first step streamlining and modernizing contact between taxpayers and the IRS. Now, the new Services Portal will bring together all the services offered to citizens and businesspeople, with the aim of improving the user experience in terms of digital interaction with the agency.

Since March 2020, motivated by the COVID-19 pandemic, some services such as CNPJ registration, for example, began to be carried out exclusively through a digital process, treated by the agency as “e-process”. It is, in the words of the Federal Revenue itself, an “electronic system for controlling, managing and judging digital, sequential tax administrative acts, which involve tax credit and residually, for administrative economy, administrative acts in general controlled by the Council Administrative Office of Tax Appeals (CARF), Attorney General of the National Treasury (PGFN) and the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service (RFB)”.

Who can use it?

Any individual or legal person registered with the Federal Revenue of Brazil, with a valid CPF or CNPJ, can use the e-process still through the e-CAC portal, which will remain active until all services are adapted to the technology of the new Services Portal. It is also possible, within the system itself, to appoint attorneys (accountants, lawyers, among others) to carry out, on behalf of the client, services that may be contracted.

To access all features, you must log in using a GOV.BR account or digital certificate.

What matters can be dealt with through the e-process?

There are several services that can be requested through the e-process. Among them, the following stand out:

• Customs matters (accreditation, import, export, etc.);
• Registrations (CAEPF, CNO, CNPJ, CPF, rural property);
• Certificates and attestations (tax regularity, civil construction work, tax residence, etc.);
• Accreditation with Siscomex;
• Declarations and bookings;
• Requests regarding the IRPF tax network;
• Debt installments;
• Registration of powers of attorney for access to e-CAC;
• Tax regularization (register debts, issue GPS, rectify DARF, etc.);
• Request for authorization in systems;
• Registration of tax transaction proposals;
• Transfer of vehicles acquired with tax benefits (taxi or PCD); and
• Consultations on taxation or tax classification of goods.

Situations that require special care

The time and resource savings provided by the e-process are evident, as there is no need for face-to-face travel, nor are there any authentication required for physical documents. This, however, does not necessarily imply greater speed in meeting all demands.

Some factors contribute to this:

• Face-to-face service was practically extinguished by the agency, with access to servers who can resolve certain demands being very limited;
• The attached documents must comply with a series of requirements (format, size, nomenclature, etc.) defined in IN RFB no 2,022/2021; and
• There are limits to the powers that can be granted by clients to any attorneys hired to carry out specific services.

Conclusion

The e-process is a very valuable tool available to individuals and legal entities to forward their demands to the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service.