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Mariana Ferreira analyzes the impacts of single-phase ICMS charging on the fuel market
After long expectations, the fuel sector finally witnessed the implementation of the single-phase ICMS regime, as established by Complementary Law no. 192/2022, in force since May 1, 2023. This movement, awaited for twenty years since the promulgation of the Constitutional Amendment 33/2001, represents a significant change in the tax model, promising to simplify and bring more transparency and collection efficiency. Mariana Ferreira, tax lawyer at Murayama, Affonso Ferreira e Mota Advogados, highlights this evolution as a milestone for the rationalization of taxation, with the potential to boost the sector's competitiveness and reduce litigation.
Simplification and challenges of the new regime
The introduced single-phase system allows ICMS to be charged once, directly from the fuel producer or importer, with uniform rates throughout the country. This method aims not only to simplify the sector's complex tax regime, but also to ensure greater neutrality and clarity for taxpayers and society. However, despite these advantages, the lawyer points to a significant weakness: the instability of tax rates and the direct impacts on prices for the final consumer.
The issue of legal security and impacts on the consumer
With less than two years since the adoption of the single-phase regime, we have already seen changes to the initial rules. Complementary Law No. 201, of October 2023, made the rate adjustment schedule more flexible, allowing for more frequent changes. This change resulted in an increase in ICMS rates for gasoline, diesel and cooking gas, effective from February 1, 2024. These changes, according to Ferreira, move the regime away from the desired tax neutrality and legal security, directly impacting the pockets of consumers.
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The rate adjustments lead to an increase in fuel prices, with gasoline rising to R$5,71 per liter, S-10 diesel exceeding R$6 per liter and cooking gas reaching R$103,6 per 13 kilo cylinder. These increases reflect the difficulties of maintaining predictability and stability in the sector, challenging both the market and consumers.
Lawyer Mariana Ferreira emphasizes that, despite the positive initial intentions of the single-phase ICMS for fuels, the practice revealed complications that compromise the effectiveness of the measure. The volatility of tax rates, aggravated by recent legislative changes, calls into question the regime's ability to offer the legal certainty and predictability that are so necessary for the sector and its consumers. Reality, therefore, shows that the path to efficient and balanced taxation still faces significant obstacles, challenging legislators, companies and society to seek solutions that reconcile economic interests and tax justice.
Source: Raquel Valente.
