EN 
PT_BR 
O Confaz (National Council for Financial Policy) published, this Tuesday (5), two new agreements that updated the provisions of the Agreement 101/97: Agreement 87/2022, which changes the Agreement 24/2022 removing the deadline of July 30th; and 94/2022, which includes the root of NCM (Common Mercosur Nomenclature) of photovoltaic generators.
As a result, the new NCMs of the 2022 harmonized system for solar water heaters and photovoltaic cells had their ICMS exemptions (Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services) guaranteed until the end of 2028.
Additionally, Confaz updated the NCMs for DC (direct current) photovoltaic generators with the new classifications, changing the devices indicated in Agreement 101/97, as explained Rodrigo Sauaia, CEO of ABSOLAR (Brazilian Photovoltaic Solar Energy Association).
“In this strategic measure for the sector, items 4, 5, 6 and 7, which specified the NCMs of different power ranges of direct current photovoltaic generators, were replaced by a single item number 4, which specifies the root of the new NCM . This guarantees exemption from ICMS for all its subdivisions”, he comments.
Another important measure taken by Confaz was the update of the NCMs for DC solar generators in item 13, which also guarantees exemption from ICMS for parts used in the composition of these generators.
“In this context, ICMS Agreement No. 101/1997 is now adequately updated, restoring legal and tax security for commercial operations in the solar photovoltaic sector throughout the country”, concluded Sauaia.
Wladimir Janousek, director of JCS Consulting and Services It is specialist in technologies and production processes for photovoltaic modules, in turn, explains that the decision taken by Confaz was something that the solar sector had already been battling since last year.
“The sector had already warned about this need since December 2021. It is only now that we have this conclusion, which is quite positive. We had already achieved a temporary and partial solution related to modules and cells and now it has been complemented”, he said.
According to the professional, it was very important that Confaz carried out the update at a time when a series of pressures have been occurring for states to reduce ICMS tax burdens on a series of products.
“We know that these exemptions put strong pressure on the States’ revenue base. For this reason, there were concerns in the sector as to whether Confaz would even agree to maintain these exemptions for photovoltaic, considering that it granted for fuels and energy. Fortunately, this was confirmed”, he contextualized.
Janousek also points out that the inclusion of tax exemption for photovoltaic generators was also of fundamental importance. “All other components, such as cables and structures, despite not having the NCM specified in the operation, are considered parts and parts of the generator. In other words, this decision was important to bring security to operations.”
