THE Computer Law has undergone changes and brings a new incentive model for companies that want to apply information and communication technology (ICT) resources in their innovation projects. The reformulation was carried out to replace the tax exemptions condemned by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and established by Decree nº 10.356 / 2020.
To address these changes, ABES promoted, in partnership with the consultancy of ABGI Brasil, on June 10, 2020, the webinar Novos Tempos Lei de Informática, a debate on the new decree, moderated by Vanda Scartezini, Director and Director of ABES. She has been National Secretary at MDIC and MCTIC and President of INPI. She currently has two consulting companies and participates in several nonprofit organizations.
Financial credit
The new legislation came into effect on April 1, explained speaker Henrique de Oliveira Miguel, General Coordinator for Stimulating the Development of Innovative Businesses at MCTIC. With the change, companies that invest in Research and Development (R&D) start to receive financial credits, which replace the exemption or reduction of the IPI, which prevailed until March 31. “All companies that were previously qualified, will keep their qualification and can claim the right to financial credit to be compensated in the payment of federal taxes, as long as they have invested in R&D in the previous quarter. This is the general rule ”, he clarified. He shared the presentation given at the webinar.
Software industry claim
In the assessment of Hamilton José Mendes da Silva, General Coordinator of Science, Technology and Digital Innovation at MCTIC, this new model should allow, in the future, a discussion to be opened in order to meet an old claim of the ICT sector so that the Informatics Law can directly support the country's software activity, which will have an indisputable relevance for the consolidation of the sector. To clarify doubts about the compensation process, Hamilton recommends consulting the normative instruction 1953 of the Federal Revenue Service, which provides answers to most queries about the new Informatics Law. He recalls, however, that the software sector is indirectly benefited, as companies have included embedded software or applications in their R&D projects.
Computer Law makes the difference
Maurício Pereira Costa Manager of Contract Administration and Manager of the Informatics Law at WEG, said that the company has used the Informatics Law since the beginning and that “the informatics law made a difference” and contributed to the development of WEG products. “We have a very well structured R&D process in the company. My only concern with this new law, which is an achievement of society, is the risk of increasing bureaucracy, because it increases the difficulties and costs involved. So, it is just another warning that I make in the sense that we do not lose sight of the simplicity of the approval and accountability processes of this legislation ”.
Organization and monitoring
The message from Maria Carolina Rocha, CEO of ABGI Brasil, is that for the operationalization of the new quarterly calculation mechanism, it will be very important for companies to monitor the expected revenue on a month-to-month basis and the real one to calculate the amount that will be necessary to invest in R&D so as not to have to run in the last hour, when accountability for obtaining credits is already close, that is, it is necessary to organize. She informed that she has alerted clients to the accounting management of the expenses encouraged by the Informatics Law in relation to all the innovation projects that the company can carry out. “This financial credit is similar to an economic grant. The company needs to monitor the projects to be sure that they are complying with the obligations to obtain the R&D tax benefit ”, he warned.
The video for this webinar is available at youtube.
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