Litigation Volume Rises, Projected to Hit New Post-2017 Record in 2025
The volume of claims filed in Brazil’s Labor Courts continues its upward trajectory and is projected to reach its highest level since the 2017 Labor Reform in 2025. This surge is primarily driven by the services sector. In 2024, approximately 2.1 million lawsuits were filed—the largest total since the Reform’s enactment. After a post-Reform low […]
STJ Sets Objectives Parameters for Collective Environmental Moral Damages
The Superior Court of Justice (STJ), through its First Panel, has taken a significant step toward systematizing the assessment of collective environmental moral damages. While the STJ previously recognized this form of non-pecuniary harm, the recent ruling sets objective parameters, injecting predictability into the recognition and quantification of this diffuse interest injury. The Court established […]
Drawback Services: What Changes Under SECEX Ordinance No. 418/2025
The Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC), through the Secretariat of Foreign Trade (SECEX), has issued SECEX Ordinance No. 418/2025, regulating the introduction of Drawback Services. This new rule amends the existing Drawback Suspension regime (established under SECEX Ordinance No. 44/2020) to extend the tax benefit to service contracts related to exports, moving […]
STJ Reviews Legality of Additional 1% Cofins-Importation on Zero-Rated Goods
The Superior Court of Justice (STJ) has recently referred Theme 1,380 to its repetitive-appeals docket, raising new questions about the legality of the additional 1% Cofins-Importation surcharge under Article 8, paragraph 21, of Law No. 10,865/2004. This dispute particularly impacts goods subject to a zero-contribution rate. Unlike Theme 1,047, decided by the Federal Supreme Court […]
Brazil’s Lower House Approves Income Tax Reform: Exemption up to BRL 5,000, New Tax on High Incomes
On Wednesday evening, 1 October, the House of Representatives approved the report presented by Arthur Lira on Bill No. 1087/25. The proposal exempts individuals earning up to BRL 5,000 per month from income tax and, as a compensatory measure, introduces taxation on earnings above BRL 50,000 per month or BRL 600,000 per year. The approved […]
Arbitration in employment contracts as a risk-management tool
Arbitration, governed by Law 9,307/1996 (Arbitration Law), is increasingly used to resolve disputes in labor contexts – especially in employment contracts of senior, highly compensated professionals with greater autonomy – provided the requirements in Article 507-A of the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT), introduced by the Labor Reform (Law 13,467/2017), are met. Arbitration does not […]
Supreme Federal Court reinstates Tax on Financial Transactions rate increases
On 16 July 2025, Justice Alexandre de Moraes partially upheld the constitutionality of Decree 12,499/2025 and reinstated the higher Tax on Financial Transactions (IOF) rates, reversing Congress’s 27 June 2025 decision to overturn them. The measure followed a conciliation hearing between the Executive and Legislative Branches convened by the Justice, which ended without agreement. The […]
Consumption Tax Reform pilot program: Contribution on Goods and Services systems now in use at 500 Brazilian companies
Brazil’s tax reform took a concrete step toward implementation. As of 1 July 2025, the Consumption Tax Reform pilot program is in effect under RFB Administrative Ordinance 549, dated 13 June 2025. This initial phase is designed to validate systems and processes for the new Contribution on Goods and Services (CBS) and gives companies an […]
Brazil’s Tax Reform: implications for M&A transactions
Following Constitutional Amendment 132/2023, Brazil launched a tax reform that will extinguish four taxes – State Value-Added Tax on Goods and Services (ICMS), Municipal Service Tax (ISS), Social Integration Program contribution (PIS), and Contribution for the Financing of Social Security (COFINS). They will be replaced by the Contribution on Goods and Services (CBS) and the […]
Brazilian Federal Revenue Service Tax Settlements: a strategic opportunity for companies
Created by Law 13,988/2020, Tax Settlement allows taxpayers negotiate tax liabilities, resolve disputes with the tax authorities, and reach faster, more predictable outcomes. Its use at the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service (RFB) has expanded in recent years; according to the 2025 “PGFN in Numbers” report from the Office of the Attorney General of the National […]