Carta de Correção Eletrônica
A "Carta de Correção" is a common practice for companies’ fiscal routines. The purpose of the document is to correct errors in fiscal documents. Learn in this article in what situations the document can be issued and how to issue it.
What is Carta de Correção?
“Carta de Correção Eletrônica” (CC or Electronic Correction Letter) is a document used to correct eventual errors in the “Nota Fiscal Eletrônica”, which is an official document stating the existence of a commercial act (buying and selling of goods or the provision of services).
The purpose of a correction letter is to correct minor errors in the filling of the invoice, so it cannot alter the following items of the original invoice:
- Nature of the transaction;
- Responsibility for the collection of ISS;
- Service code;
- Registration data about who is providing and who is receiving the service;
- RPS (Recibo Provisório de Serviços or Temporary Services Receipt) data;
- Variables that determine the calculation of ISS, such as calculation basis, aliquot, the value of the deductions, price differences, quantity and value of the services rendered.
If your case falls in one of the situations mentioned above, the invoice must be cancelled or replaced. Invoices that have already been authorized by SEFAZ (Secretaria da Fazenda) cannot be altered.
When a correction letter is issued, it substitutes the previous one, so its final version must contain all the information that was presented in the previous documents. Also, it is mandatory to enable a digital version of the document for the addressee and any other person who request it.
How to issue it?
Since July 2012, correction letters can no longer be handwritten, but smaller companies still refuse to use the electronic version of the document.
To add a correction letter to an already issued invoice, the first step is to access the invoice in the software used to generate your company’s fiscal documents. Here you can either use the software provided by the state or city government (in the case of Rio de Janeiro, that works with a particular system called Nota Carioca) or hire a company that would integrate your company’s systems to the systems of Secretaria da Fazenda. The last one is a paid service with an average cost of BRL 2.000 per month.
Regardless on the software you have chosen to work with, the common procedure is to insert the number of the invoice you would like to change and then click on the option “Carta de Correção”. The next step is to click on “Anexar” (Attach file) and then you attach the information you would like to change. In some software the option may be called “Registrar Carta de Correção”. If the procedure is made correctly, you will receive the message “Carta de Correção Anexada com sucesso” (Correction letter attached correctly).
How to identify a correction letter?
Once the correction has been issued it can be consulted by both the service provider and the invoice’s addressee. The procedure for consulting of the document varies according to the service provider, but if you are using the software provided by Secretaria da Fazenda, you only need to access the invoice to have access to the correction letter.
On the top of the page there will be a link to the correction letter (or Carta de Correção as the invoice will only be available in Portuguese). Also, on the bottom of the page, in the box “Outras Informações” (other information) you will see if the invoice has a correction letter.