Guia Nacional de Recolhimento de Tributos Estaduais
As we all know, Brazil has a high tax burden and it is not uncommon to hear of companies who did not pay their taxes because they were unable to keep up with them. In order to help tax payers to keep up with their duties, some initiatives have been created and GNRE is one of them.
GRNE, short for Guia Nacional de Recolhimento de Tributos Estaduais (“National Form for the Collection of State Taxes") is a document frequently used by taxpayers that undergo interstate sales operations subjected to "[substituição tributária]"(/article/substituicao-tributaria), a tax collection mechanism created to avoid double taxation and tax evasion during the production of goods and provision of services.
The GNRE is mostly used for the collection of ICMS in states that are not the ones to which the tax is being collected. So, for example, tax payers from Mato Grosso do Sul will collect taxes in their own state, even if they are being collected for a different state.
Issuance
Since last November, the offline version of the document is no longer available and the GNRE can only be issued online. With the extinction of the offline version of the document, the online version for the document for most Brazilian states can be found here. Some states have their own online address to issue the document. They are:
- Distrito Federal;
- Espírito Santo;
- Rio de Janeiro;
- São Paulo.
The tax can paid at the following banks:
- Banco do Brasil;
- Banco Bradesco;
- Caixa Econômica Federal;
- HSBC;
- Itaú;
- Santander.
The government claims that all tax collector agents aggregated to the federal unions are aware of this change and, therefore, in charge of providing adequate means to the discharge of the online GRNE, whether it is individual or collective.
Companies can also register on the website, presenting their e-CNPJ (digital certificate) to request the issuance of collective GNRE. To have access to this option, the company must have a digital certificate and request its registration by contacting the State Government Office.
Refund
In case of overpayment or any incorrect charge, it is possible to issue a refund, that must be issued in two copies, requesting the refund or compensation of the overpaid tax. The document must explain why the tax was overpaid and must be signed by the claimant or his legal representative.
When requesting a refund, the applicant will have to present the following documents:
- RG (or driver’s license) and CPF – original and copy;
- Articles of association – original and copy;
- Receipt of the registration at CNPJ – copy.
- Copy of the document with information about the bank account used to cash the refund money;
- A declaration written by the recipient of the document proving that the amount overpaid was not used as credit or that is has been charged back.
If the applicant has chosen a power of attorney, his personal documents must be replaced by those below:
- Certified copy of the power of attorney in which the applicant must indicate an attorney/lawyer to represent him at SEFAZ (Secretaria da Fazenda);
- RG and CPF of the power of attorney or the OAB member card in case of lawyers – original and copy.
The documents and the application must be presented at a SEFAZ office or at a Poupatempo unit.