Fuel consumers must prepare their pockets. Gasoline and ethanol will rise at the end of the month, with the end of the Social Integration Program (PIS) and Social Security Financing Contribution (Cofins) exemption, which has been in effect since the second half of last year.
When commenting on the result of january collection, the head of the Federal Revenue’s Center for Tax and Customs Studies, Claudemir Malaquias, confirmed the reinstatement at the end of the month. The date is in the Provisional Measure 1,157signed by the president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on January 1.
“In fact, the MP predicted that the exemption rate would be in force until the end of this month. The reenactment is foreseen according to the rule that is in force”, said Malaquias during the interview.
The provisional measure extended until February 28th the PIS and Cofins exemptions levied on gasoline and fuel alcohol and until December 31st the exemptions on diesel oil and biodiesel. These exemptions had been granted last year by former President Jair Bolsonaro.
Today, Lula met with the president of Petrobras, Jean Paul Prates, to discuss the increase in fuel prices. With the end of the exemption, the previous rates are back in force, of R$ 0.792 per liter of gasoline A (without ethanol mixture) and R$ 0.242 per liter of ethanol. The transfer to consumers, however, will depend on distributors and fuel stations.
At the beginning of the year, when announcing the package with measures to improve public accountsthe Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, stated that the recomposition of taxes will yield BRL 28.88 billion to the government’s cash in 2023. In January alone, according to calculations by the Federal Revenue released today, the government failed to collect BRL 3, 75 billion with the extension of the zero rate.
