10 December 2018

Brazil: Deadline to disclose ”final beneficiary” to tax authorities is 31 December 2018

Brazilian and foreign companies registered with the CNPJ (Brazilian corporate taxpayer identification registry) must report the “final beneficiary” on or before 31 December 2018.

In accordance with the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiative, the Brazilian Tax Authorities issued, in May 2016, regulations aimed at ensuring compliance with international transparency standards. Under the regulations (Normative Instruction No. 1,634), companies registered in the CNPJ must disclose the chain of companies or entities up to the “final beneficiary.” A “final beneficiary” is defined as the natural person who ultimately – directly or indirectly – owns, controls or significantly influences a particular entity or on whose behalf a transaction is conducted. The “final beneficiary” may also be the natural person who either: (i) holds, directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the company’s capital; or (ii) holds or exercises, directly or indirectly, the power to elect the majority of the company’s directors, even without controlling it.

Subject to certain exemptions, Brazilian and foreign companies subject to this ancillary obligation must report the final beneficiary on or before 31 December 2018. To fulfill the obligation, certain documents must be submitted to the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service.

Companies that fail to comply with this requirement will have their CNPJ enrollment suspended and, consequently, may be prevented from conducting transactions with banks, performing financial transactions and participating in public bids.

For additional information with respect to this Alert, please contact the following:

Ernst & Young Serviços Tributários SP Ltda, São Paulo
  • Sergio Fontenelle | sergio.fontenelle@br.ey.com
  • Graziela G Baffa | graziela.g.baffa@br.ey.com
  • Leticia Cunha | leticia.cunha@br.ey.com
  • Marcelo Brisolla | marcelo.brisolla@br.ey.com
Ernst & Young, LLP, Latin American Business Center, New York
  • Gustavo Carmona Sanches | gustavo.carmona1@ey.com
  • Aline Nunes | aline.nunes1@ey.com
  • Marcus Segnini | marcus.segnini1@ey.com
  • Ana Mingramm | ana.mingramm@ey.com
  • Enrique Perez Grovas | enrique.perezgrovas@ey.com
  • Pablo Wejcman | pablo.wejcman@ey.com
Ernst & Young LLP (United Kingdom), Brazilian Tax Desk Leader, London
  • Felipe Fortes | ffortes@uk.ey.com
Ernst & Young LLP (United Kingdom), Latin American Business Center, London
  • Jose Padilla | jpadilla@uk.ey.com
Ernst & Young Tax Co., Latin American Business Center, Japan & Asia Pacific
  • Raul Moreno, Tokyo | raul.moreno@jp.ey.com
  • Luis Coronado, Singapore | luis.coronado@sg.ey.com

ATTACHMENT

Document ID: 2018-6468