Tax reform: advances and adjustments to keep on the radar in April

IBS/CBS regulations require attention

IBS and CBS regulations are published and require immediate attention from taxpayers

On April 30, 2026, CGIBS Resolution No. 6/2026, regulating the Tax on Goods and Services (IBS), and Decree No. 12,955/2026, regulating the Social Contribution on Goods and Services (CBS), were published.

The two regulations represent a relevant milestone in the practical implementation of the consumption tax reform and detail central aspects of the new system, as provided for in Complementary Laws No. 214/2025 and No. 227/2026. Companies now have more concrete parameters to review tax documents, registrations, contracts, systems, financial flows, commercial policies, and calculation models.

IBS and CBS were designed as taxes with a common architecture, with largely harmonized rules. Even so, each regulation preserves specific provisions, due to the federal jurisdiction over CBS and the shared jurisdiction over IBS among the states, the Federal District, and municipalities. The coordinated publication of the two acts reduces part of the uncertainty that had accompanied the transition, but does not conclude the regulatory process. Several matters will still depend on joint acts of the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service (RFB) and the IBS Steering Committee (CGIBS), in addition to technological implementation, registration integration, and system interoperability.

More than a normative update, the regulations confirm that the tax reform has entered an operational phase. The neutrality promised by the new system will depend, in practice, on data quality, proper issuance of tax documents, identification of the place of the transaction, extinguishment of the debts that give rise to credits, functioning of split payment, and the ability of companies to integrate tax, legal, finance, commercial, procurement, technology, and operations areas.

Among the main regulated points, the following should be highlighted:

1. Place of transaction

The regulations govern the criteria for defining the place of the transaction, a matter especially relevant for IBS revenue sharing and for the correct application of incidence rules.

As a rule, the place of the transaction will be determined based on the nature of the good or service. For tangible movable goods, the place of delivery or availability to the recipient is considered. For real estate, rights related to real estate, and services physically performed on real estate, the place where the real estate is located prevails. For other transactions, especially digital services and intangible goods not covered by specific rules, the place tends to be the main domicile of the purchaser or recipient, the determination criteria for which may vary for individuals and legal entities:

• For individuals, main domicile will be the place of permanent residence or, in the absence or multiplicity of residences, the place where their most relevant economic relationships are concentrated.
• For legal entities and entities without legal personality, the establishment to which the good or service is destined is considered, and no longer the place of the company’s headquarters, as initially expected.

In cases where the purchaser or recipient is not regularly registered, the supplier must, as a rule, use a combination of at least two non-conflicting criteria, such as declared address, commercially relevant information, payment arrangement data, or IP/geolocation. If such combination is not possible, the address declared to the supplier may be considered. This point is particularly relevant for digital companies, marketplaces, platforms, streaming, telecommunications, and large-scale B2C models.

2. Timing of the taxable event

The regulations establish that the IBS and CBS taxable event occurs, as a rule, at the time of supply of the good or service, even in the case of transactions performed on a continuous or fractional basis.

For transactions performed on a continuous or fractional basis, the taxable event is deemed to occur upon the earlier of two events: when the portion of the consideration corresponding to each payment becomes due or when payment of the obligation arising from the supply occurs.

In cases of advance payment, the regulations provide for the requirement to make IBS and CBS advance payments on each installment paid, based on the amount of the installment and the rates applicable on the date of issuance of the tax document corresponding to the payment or on the payment date, whichever occurs first. At the time of supply, the definitive taxes will be calculated on the total value of the transaction, with positive or negative adjustments, as applicable.

This point requires attention in contracts with advance billing, subscriptions, construction works, continuous supplies, long-term contracts, milestone payments, prepayments, and transactions with recurring billing.

3. Credits, assisted calculation, and split payment

One of the most relevant points of the regulations is the confirmation that appropriation of credits will depend on extinguishment of the corresponding debts and proof of the transaction by a valid tax document.

In practice, the credit ceases to depend only on the existence of a taxed acquisition and starts to require alignment among tax document, highlighted debt, extinguishment of the debt, and record in the tax calculation. This increases the importance of supplier governance, registration quality, reconciliation between tax documents and payments, and integration among ERP, tax, accounts payable, treasury, and procurement.

The regulations also detail modalities for extinguishing debts, including offsetting, payment by the taxpayer, collection by the purchaser, payment by the taxpayer responsible, and collection upon financial settlement of the transaction (split payment), the latter to be implemented gradually and in accordance with specific operational standards.

Although split payment is a central tool to reduce default and enable appropriation of credits, it may also generate relevant impacts on cash flow, reconciliation, pricing, means of payment, and relationships with customers and suppliers.

4. Gifts, bonuses, free samples, and free-of-charge transactions

The regulations define gift as a good or service supplied free of charge to a final consumer that does not constitute the object of the supplier’s activities. A bonus, in turn, is defined as the supply in excess of a good or service that is the object of the taxpayer’s activity in substitution for a discount on the transaction value.

The rule requires caution because gifts and bonuses may be taxed, except in specific cases. In the case of bonuses, there is a relevant exception for those stated in the tax document and not dependent on a subsequent event, without prejudice to specific rules for goods subject to a specific rate.

Free samples were also addressed, but not definitively. The regulations recognize that they may be included in the non-levy applicable to donations without consideration benefiting the donor, provided that they have low or no commercial value, constitute the object of the supplier’s economic activity, and comply with specific limits. In the case of tangible goods, the quantity must be necessary to demonstrate their nature and quality; in the case of services and intangible goods, the supply must occur for a predetermined period, limited to 31 days.

The critical point is that qualification as a free sample will still depend on compliance with requirements to be established in a joint act of the RFB and CGIBS. Therefore, promotional campaigns, tastings, samples, commercial bonuses, and free-of-charge supplies for marketing purposes should be carefully reviewed.

5. Ancillary supplies and composite transactions

The regulations establish that, when different goods or services are supplied in the same transaction, each supply and its respective value must be specified, unless all are subject to the same tax treatment or there is a main supply and the others are ancillary.

Ancillary supplies are those that constitute a condition or means for the main supply. Although the rule is important, it still leaves room for discussion in complex contracts. If there is unified billing in breach of the rule, each supply may be treated as independent, with the possibility of arbitration of the calculation base. Review of contracts, commercial proposals, tax documents, and billing models will be essential to avoid rate errors, credit disallowance, inconsistency in the place of transaction, and margin distortion.

6. Electronic tax documents

The regulations accept tax documents already used in the current system, such as the Electronic Invoice (NF-e), Electronic Consumer Invoice (NFC-e), Electronic Services Invoice (NFS-e), Electronic Bill of Lading (CT-e), Electronic Electric Energy Invoice (NF3e), and Electronic Invoice-Bill for Communication Services (NFCom).

New documents are also established, such as the Electronic Water and Sanitation Invoice (NFAg), Declaration of Specific Regimes (DeRE), and Electronic Invoice for Transfer of Real Estate (NF-e ABI).

The regulations also provide for the possibility of creating special regimes for issuance of tax documents by joint act of the RFB and CGIBS.

Special attention should be given to the concept of valid tax document. Document validity will be a relevant condition for appropriation of credits and may be affected by registration errors, inconsistency regarding the purchaser or recipient, divergence between the real transaction and the documented transaction, fraud, or inexcusable error.

The rules relating to registration and the requirement to issue a tax document produce effects as from August 1, 2026, without prejudice to specific rules on technical implementation and application of penalties. This makes the review of layouts, fields, registrations, parameterizations, and system integrations urgent.

7. Goods and services for personal use or consumption

The legislation prohibits appropriation of IBS and CBS credits on goods and services for personal use or consumption. The regulations detail the concept and establish cases in which certain goods and services will not be considered for personal use when used predominantly in the taxpayer’s economic activity.

Relevant examples include uniforms, work clothing, personal protective equipment, food and non-alcoholic beverages made available at the establishment during working hours, health and daycare services made available at the establishment, transportation vouchers, meal vouchers, food vouchers, educational benefits, and certain healthcare plans.

In the case of healthcare plans destined for employees and dependents as a result of a mandatory clause provided for in a collective bargaining agreement or collective labor agreement, the regulations exclude classification as personal use or consumption, including for up to six months after expiration of the collective instrument.

The regulations also govern reversal of credits when goods or services are characterized as being for personal use or consumption, requiring tax documentation linked to the original acquisition and proper identification of the amounts to be reversed.

8. Special customs regimes

The regulations detail the application of IBS and CBS to special customs regimes provided for in Complementary Law No. 214, including deposit, temporary stay, and processing regimes.

Among the deposit regimes, particular emphasis should be given to customs warehousing on importation and exportation, special deposit, bonded deposit, free deposit, duty-free shop, and international warehouse of the Manaus Free Trade Zone. Among temporary stay regimes, temporary admission and temporary exportation are addressed. Among processing regimes, Recof, drawback in the suspension modality, temporary admission for inward processing, and temporary exportation for outward processing are regulated.

For companies with foreign trade transactions, the regulations reinforce the need to review tax classification, customs documents, import flows, suspension regimes, proof of exportation, deadlines, document linkage, and effects on credits.

9. Manaus Free Trade Zone and Free Trade Areas

The regulations also detail the application of IBS and CBS to transactions involving the Manaus Free Trade Zone (ZFM) and Free Trade Areas (ALC), preserving the logic of favorable treatment provided for in Complementary Law No. 214/2025.

Among the main points, particular emphasis should be given to regulation of the zero rate on shipments of tangible goods of domestic origin to the ZFM and ALC, maintenance of credits in prior stages, deemed tax credits applicable to transactions involving goods produced by an incentivized industry, and specific rules for transactions between incentivized industries located in the ZFM.

The regulations also provide detailed rules on qualification before Suframa, approval of technical-economic projects, classification of goods, electronic tax clearance, entry confirmation, exit from the incentivized area, and control of entry of goods. Enjoyment of the benefits will depend on proper documentation of the transaction and proof of entry of the goods into the incentivized area, including through electronic tax events.

This point requires special attention from companies shipping goods to the ZFM or ALC, incentivized industries, distributors, importers, and groups with intragroup transactions in the region. Preservation of the benefits will depend not only on the nature of the transaction, but also on adherence to registration, tax, documentary, and system requirements, especially regarding proper issuance of tax documents, linkage to Suframa, control of deadlines, proof of entry, and compliance with market value rules in related-party transactions.

10. Rural producer and integrated rural producer

The regulations govern classification of rural producers and integrated rural producers for IBS and CBS purposes.

As a rule, rural producers, whether individuals or legal entities, earning annual revenue below BRL 3.6 million will not be considered taxpayers. Integrated rural producers will also not be considered taxpayers, subject to the specific rules applicable to integration agreements.

For purposes of verifying the rural producer’s revenue threshold, revenues arising from rural activities must be considered, including agriculture, livestock, extraction and exploitation of plants, animal exploitation, and transformation of products originating from rural activity, provided that the characteristics of the in natura product are preserved and regulatory limits are observed.

On the other hand, the regulations exclude certain revenues from the calculation, such as those arising from integration agreements, sale of assets used in production, sale of bare land, and financial advances linked to purchase and sale agreements for future delivery of rural products.

Rural producers and integrated rural producers may elect the regular regime, regardless of revenue earned. This decision should be assessed on a case-by-case basis, considering effects on credits, price, customers, supply chain, and ancillary obligations.

1. Points that still require attention

Although the regulations represent relevant progress, some matters continue to require caution. There are still areas of tension regarding the treatment of rebates and marketing funds, cost-sharing agreements between related parties, free-of-charge supplies with indirect economic benefit, market value criteria in complex transactions, use of consortia as an operational structure, delimitation of rights relating to electricity, and classification of composite transactions.

These matters may directly affect price, margin, cash flow, credit chain, documentary governance, exposure to tax assessments, and contractual modeling. The name attributed to the transaction will not be sufficient. It will be necessary to demonstrate economic substance, consistent documentation, alignment between contract and invoice, and compatibility between financial flow and tax treatment adopted.

1. Next steps

With publication of the regulations, taxpayers should immediately begin reviewing their processes.

The tax reform will not be implemented only by the tax area and will require coordination among legal, tax, technology, finance, procurement, commercial, logistics, and operations teams. As from August of this year, penalties for absence of records of fields relating to the new taxes in tax documents become enforceable.

Priority measures include mapping transactions, reviewing contracts, parameterizing systems, validating registrations, reviewing tax documents, analyzing credits, simulating cash flow and margin impacts, reviewing commercial policies, and defining governance for suppliers, free-of-charge transactions, bonuses, rebates, imports, exports, and special regimes.

The IBS and CBS regulations are an important milestone, but are not yet definitive. The text may be adjusted over time, as the understanding of tax authorities and market needs evolve.

In any event, the real test will be transforming the promise of simplification into an operation capable of preserving credits, avoiding disputes, and supporting business decisions during the transition.

Over the coming days, Lefosse will publish analyses on the content of the regulations, focusing on specific sectors of the economy.

Finance details IBS/CBS rules

In press conference, Ministry of Finance details IBS and CBS regulations and expects educational phase through 2027

On the date of publication of the IBS and CBS regulations, April 30, 2026, the Ministry of Finance held a press conference to detail the new rules and clarify operational aspects of the implementation of the taxes.

The authorities informed that, although ancillary obligations will become enforceable as from August 2026, the application of penalties will have an educational nature in the initial testing phase. The legislation provides for a minimum period of 60 days for regularization after notification of the taxpayer, with a focus on guidance, correction of inconsistencies, and adaptation to the new system. Effective application of penalties is expected to begin on January 1, 2027.

With respect to undue payments, it was clarified that the amounts may be offset against PIS and Cofins. As to the IBS and CBS reference rates, the authorities stated that their definition will follow the deadlines provided for in the complementary legislation, with progress expected in the second half of the year.

Split payment was also highlighted as a relevant mechanism to ensure collection of the taxes and guarantee the credit to the purchaser. Its implementation is expected to occur as from 2027, initially on an optional basis and restricted to transactions between taxpayers.

During the press conference, references in the regulations to several joint acts of the Federal Revenue Service and the IBS Steering Committee still to be issued were also addressed. These acts will govern operational, procedural, and technical aspects of the application of the new taxes, with an infra-legal nature and subject to periodic updates.

Lastly, it was announced that, from May 4, 2026 to May 31, 2026, a specific channel will be opened in Receita Atende to receive suggestions and contributions from representative entities. The regulations may be adjusted, with a new version expected later this year. The authorities emphasized, however, that the rules already published are sufficient to enable operationalization of the new system.

IRS delays penalties 90 days

Federal Revenue Service clarifies that no penalties will apply before 90 days from publication of the regulations

On April 2, 2026, the Federal Revenue Service and the IBS Steering Committee published a press release to clarify incorrect information regarding the application of penalties related to failure to complete fields referring to IBS and CBS in tax documents.

According to the release, allegations that penalties would begin to be applied as from early April for noncompliance with ancillary obligations related to the new taxes are false. The statement mentions the 2025 Joint Act of the Federal Revenue Service and the IBS Steering Committee, which provides for the non-application of penalties until the first day of the fourth month following publication of the IBS and CBS regulations.

The year 2026 was defined as a testing and adaptation period, with calculation for exclusively informational purposes. The release also highlights the proposal to simplify and unify ancillary obligations, with common rules for both taxes, and advises taxpayers and professionals to disregard alarmist content on the matter.

The joint act reaffirms the non-application of penalties during the transition period, provided that ancillary obligations are complied with under the simplified model.

The regulations were published on April 30, 2026, setting the initial date for application of penalties as August 1, 2026. Even so, in a press conference, the Ministry of Finance clarified that there is no intention to apply penalties this year. In the event of noncompliance with ancillary obligations, taxpayers must be notified to regularize within 60 days from the date of the notice.

Tax Reform affects airfares

Ministry of Finance provides clarifications on the impacts of the Tax Reform on airline ticket prices

On April 14, 2026, the Ministry of Finance published a press release clarifying information on the possible impacts of the Tax Reform on prices of international airline tickets, in view of recent news suggesting a possible increase in such amounts.

According to the Ministry of Finance, it is not possible to state that the Tax Reform will result in an increase in international ticket prices. The release emphasizes that the new system provides for tax relief on fueling of international flights and on in-flight catering services, in addition to ensuring airlines the right to full IBS and CBS credits on their acquisitions. According to the Ministry, these factors should be considered in calculating the final tax burden levied on tickets.

The Ministry of Finance also highlighted that, during the legislative proceedings of the Tax Reform in the National Congress, there was a political choice to prioritize regional aviation, included in a specific regime with a 40% reduction in IBS and CBS rates, a benefit that was not extended to international aviation.

Lastly, the release states that frequent meetings are being held with representative entities of the sectors involved, including the aviation sector, with the purpose of providing clarifications and receiving contributions to the regulation of the new taxes.

Steering Committee begins operations

Chair of the Steering Committee takes office and begins operational phase of the Tax Reform

On April 7, 2026, the chair of the Superior Council of the IBS Steering Committee, the interfederative entity responsible for implementation and administration of the new tax, took office. The inauguration marks the transition from the institutional planning phase to the technical and operational implementation phase of IBS.

Flávio César, Finance Secretary of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, who also chairs the National Committee of State Finance Secretaries (Comsefaz), took office as chair of the Superior Council. The vice-chairmanships will be held by the Finance Secretary of Minas Gerais, Luiz Cláudio Fernandes Lourenço Gomes, and the Finance Secretary of the Municipality of São Paulo, Luis Felipe Vidal Arellano. The term of the current administration will run until March 2027.

The Steering Committee is the interfederative public entity created by the Tax Reform legislation, responsible for administration of IBS, including collection, inspection, revenue distribution among the states, the Federal District, and municipalities, in addition to defining several operational rules.

Its main body is the Superior Council, composed of 54 full members, of whom 27 represent the states and the Federal District and 27 represent the municipalities. The states will be represented by their respective Finance or Economy Secretaries, while the municipalities will be represented by members elected by the National Confederation of Municipalities (CNM) and the National Front of Mayors (FNP).

Simples sets IBS/CBS deadlines

Simples Nacional Steering Committee sets deadlines for election for Simples Nacional and the regular IBS and CBS regime

On April 17, 2026, the Simples Nacional Steering Committee (CGSN) published a Resolution establishing the deadlines and conditions for election for the Unified Special Regime for Collection of Taxes and Contributions Due by Microenterprises and Small-Sized Companies (Simples Nacional) for calendar year 2027.

The Resolution establishes that the election must be formalized in the Simples Nacional Portal from September 1, 2026 to September 30, 2026. For the period from January to June 2027, the rule also governs the election, by taxpayers opting for Simples Nacional, to calculate and collect IBS and CBS under the regular regime. This election must be formalized in the same period, from September 1, 2026 to September 30, 2026.

The Resolution does not apply to companies starting activities with registration in the National Register of Legal Entities carried out between October and December 2026, for which the election will be made at the time of registration and will produce specific effects.

The rule entered into force on the date of its publication, April 17, 2026, and also does not apply to the election for payment of taxes and contributions covered by Simples Nacional in fixed monthly amounts

Chamber reviews Tax Reform bills

Chamber of Deputies receives new bills to amend Tax Reform legislation

At the beginning of April, new Complementary Bills were introduced before the Chamber of Deputies proposing relevant amendments to the Tax Reform legislation.

The bills address the granting of differentiated tax treatment within the scope of IBS and CBS, including, among other measures, a 40% reduction in the rates applicable to commercial representation activities and recognition of certain goods, such as prescription glasses and footwear, as essential, which could result in application of a more favorable tax regime to such products.

After introduction, the bills begin their legislative proceedings in the Chamber of Deputies, with analysis by the competent committees and possible plenary vote, before being sent to the Federal Senate. If approved by the National Congress, the texts will be submitted for presidential sanction.

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This material is for informational purposes only. Our Consumption Tax team is available to provide specific legal advice.