New tax rules that reduce tax benefits and change the percentages of tax regimes
In the final stretch of 2025, Complementary Bill No. 128/2025 was converted into Complementary Law No. 224/2025, and its general regulations were published by Decree No. 12,808/2025 and, subsequently, by RFB Normative Instruction No. 2,305/2025 and MF Ordinance No. 3,278/2025. These regulations address the reduction of federal tax, financial, or credit incentives and benefits granted exclusively within the scope of the Union.
The supplementary law stipulates that the total tax benefits (or tax waivers) may not exceed 2% of GDP calculated based on the statement of tax expenditures included in the 2026 Budget Law. The tax benefits subject to reduction are those related to PIS/COFINS, IRPJ, CSLL, II, IPI, and social security contributions of the employer, the company, and the entity equivalent to it, under the following terms: Exemption and zero rate: application of a rate equal to 10% of the nominal rate of the tax to which the benefit refers;
Congress concludes voting on the second stage of tax reform, and the text now goes to the president for approval
On December 16th, Congress finalized the analysis of the amendments and the voting on the second stage of the tax reform regulation, after having already approved the base text in the early hours of the 15th. PLP No. 108/2024 began its legislative process in the Chamber of Deputies and, after approval, proceeded to the Federal Senate for analysis. The text now goes to the President for sanction, after having been under discussion for almost a year and a half. The Brazilian Tax Reform establishes a transition period for the replacement and unification of current taxes with new taxes between 2026 and 2032. Check below how the schedule will look year by year:
Siscomex: Absence of cClassTrib will not result in penalty
The Integrated Foreign Trade System (Siscomex) has announced that failure to provide the cClassTrib code will not result in penalties until specific regulations on the matter are published. The statement clarifies the function of the code and provides guidance on how importers should proceed while awaiting official regulations.
According to the text, no penalties will be applied for the absence of the cClassTrib code until specific regulations are in place defining rules, procedures, and potential sanctions. Siscomex also highlighted the code's purpose within the new tax environment. According to the statement, cClassTrib will be used exclusively to guide calculations related to CBS (Contribution on Goods and Services) in import operations. The agency stated: “the cClassTrib code will serve solely and exclusively to guide the calculation of the equivalent CBS rate on import operations and will have a purely informative character.”
The guidance reinforces that the code does not currently have a direct punitive or supervisory operational function, serving only as a reference for tax assessment. The code will be one of the instruments used in the transition to the consumption tax system geared towards IBS and CBS. Until the issuance of a specific regulation, Siscomex reinforces that:
RFB suspends fines for lack of CBS/IBS on invoices for up to 4 months
Companies and micro-entrepreneurs that issue electronic tax documents will have an extra period to adjust to the requirements of the tax reform on consumption. The Federal Revenue Service and the Management Committee of the Tax on Goods and Services (CGIBS) published a joint act at the end of December determining that there will be no application of fines or penalties for the absence of completion of the CBS and IBS fields in electronic invoices in the first three months after the publication of the regulations.
In practice, the measure creates an adaptation window that can last up to four months, as the mandatory compliance will take effect on the first day of the fourth month following the publication of the common part of the regulations for the new taxes. The transition phase begins in 2026, when the tax assessment will be educational and informative, without actual collection. According to the joint act, until the first day of the fourth month following the publication of the regulations:
Therefore, invoices will not be automatically rejected if the CBS and IBS fields are not filled in during the tolerance period.
Congress approves criteria for zero IBS and CBS tax rate on medicine
The Congress approved criteria for medicines to have a zero tax rate for the Tax on Goods and Services (IBS) and the Contribution on Goods and Services (CBS), taxes created by the consumption tax reform.
The decision establishes which categories of medicines may benefit from the exemption and determines the periodic updating of the list of products covered. According to the approved text, the following medications may be subject to a zero IBS and CBS tax rate:
These categorie will now be included in the set of goods that can be sold without the new consumption taxes.
Selective Tax: Government decides to postpone draft of "Sin Tax" rates, and the text will be released in 2026
The federal government has decided to postpone until 2026 the submission of the Bill that will establish the rates for the Selective Tax (IS), nicknamed the Sin Tax, a tax foreseen in the tax reform that will apply to products harmful to health or the environment, such as cigarettes, alcoholic and sugary drinks, vehicles, and mineral goods.
There was an expectation that the proposal would be submitted in 2025, with processing initiated in Congress before the legislative recess. However, the economic team understood that, without the approval of Complementary Bill (PLP) 108/2024 — which deals with the second phase of regulation of the tax reform — the advancement of the Selective Tax would be premature.
According to Complementary Law No. 214/2025, the Selective Tax will be applied to:
Sugary drinks, for example, may be taxed at a maximum of 2%, and mineral resources will have a ceiling of 0.25%.
