Introduction to Nota Fiscal Carioca
Similar to Nota Fiscal Paulista, Nota Fiscal Carioca aims to reinforce the tax policy by encouraging consumers to participate more actively in the taxation system. In this article you will find an introduction to Nota Carioca and how it differs from Nota Fiscal Paulista.
What is Nota Fiscal Carioca?
Nota Fiscal Carioca is the name given to the system of electronic invoicing, launched by the prefecture of Rio de Janeiro in 2010. The new taxation system is an attempt to control tax evasion and to reinforce the ISS collection (Imposto Sobre Serviços de Qualquer Natureza).
Similar to what happened in São Paulo with Nota Fiscal Paulista, Nota Carioca aims to encourage the population to participate more actively in the fight against tax evasion. The cariocas who require the document will compete for prizes in cash that go up to BRL 20 thousand and to discounts in the IPTU.
Who is obliged to pay it?
Differently from São Paulo, Nota Carioca is restricted to the city of Rio de Janeiro. It became mandatory in December 2010 and included taxpayers who were considered to be exempted and were not obliged to use the system.
The issuance of the document is mandatory to any service provider established in the municipality, regardless of the billing, size or being or not taxed by ISS. The only ones exempted of paying the taxes are microempreendedores individuais (individual microentrepreneurs) and service providers who are prevented from issuing it, such as:
- Freelancers;
- Financial institutions regulated by the Brazilian Central Bank;
- Permit holders and concessionaires of public transportation;
- Companies rendering services related to road exploitation.
Benefits
According to the prefecture of Rio de Janeiro, Nota Fiscal Carioca offers benefits for both issuer and requestor. The measure would reduce the costs related to printing and storage of invoices, providing a more dynamic and efficient issuance and control of documents. The requestors of the invoice would receive 10% of the collected ISS to be used as a discount on IPTU.
Not as successful as Nota Fiscal Paulista
As the issuance of the document depends directly on the consumer’s request, the prefecture has to encourage the practice of asking for nota fiscal, what is not very common among Brazilians. In order to encourage this habit, several prizes are offered, but what has been very popular in São Paulo is the refund of the ICMS.
As in São Paulo Nota Fiscal Paulista is a state initiative - and not a municipal one, as it is Rio de Janeiro -, the positive impact is greater than in the carioca city.
In 2010, the average refund paid by Nota Fiscal Paulista was of BRL 134,17, lower than the average registered in the previous year. Even though the amount is not as significant as the one offered in the form of prizes, at least it is guaranteed.
Also, apart from receiving 1/3 of all the collected ICMS in one year, paulistas can use the refund to pay the IPVA. If the refund in Rio de Janeiro were over IPVA it would be much more convenient as many families in the city are already exempted from paying IPTU .
Eduardo Paes, mayor of Rio de Janeiro, has claimed that the city suffers from a severe informality. He does not believe that the tax evasion happens on purpose, but mostly because the retailer does not want to deal with bureaucracy involved in process of becoming formal.