EN 
PT_BR 
The minister of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), Luiz Fux, granted a injunction that suspends the differentiated calculation in ICMS collection (Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services) about the electric energy sector. The decision is worrying in three aspects. The first of them is the cool aspect.
Today, the complementary law that deals with the subject makes it very clear that energy transmission and distribution are a service, that is, the service of taking energy from power plant generation to use by consumers. AND As it is a service, it would not have ICMS, which is a tax specific to the circulation of products.
The second aspect is the legal procedure. The STJ already has jurisprudence on the issue and is in the middle of a judgment that is shaping up to be a decision favorable to consumers, that is, that there would be no ICMS on the tariff for the use of distribution systems and the use of transmission systems.
More than that, the STF itself had already stated that the issue was not constitutional. The question was legal and, because it is legal, it is the STJ that should judge the matter.
And there is still a third aspect, which is the regulatory, in legal security. From this perspective, there is an immediate effect, which is the cost of energy that increases immediately for the consumer. Whether through an increase in his energy bill, or through the ripple effect he will feel due to the increase in prices of services and products.
But there is also an immediate and deleterious effect on society as a whole. A decision that contradicts the express text of a complementary Law (which is approved by the Legislative Branch with a qualified quorum) and the jurisprudence of the STJ – which is the Court competent to judge the matter – causes an increase in the perception of legal uncertainty in Brazil.
When you increase legal uncertainty in a country, transaction and investment costs rise. The cost of national and foreign investment becomes higher when it is not removed. Electrical energy is one of the industry's main inputs and, often, its most relevant cost.
Decisions that change its value bring an abrupt change in the risk matrix and return on capital-intensive investments. In return, the investor charges a higher “premium” to cover his risk and this is the worst impact on society in the medium and long term.
The opinions and information expressed are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of Canal Solar.
