Chamber Approves Crackdown on Habitual Tax Debtors, Sending Bill to Lula

Overview

• Lawmakers approved PLP 125/22 and forwarded it to President Lula for sanction or veto, giving states and municipalities up to one year to set their own parameters.
• The bill deems federal debt substantial at R$ 15 million or more and exceeding 100% of known assets, and flags repeat nonpayment in four consecutive or six alternating periods within 12 months.
• Tax authorities must notify suspected offenders and allow 30 days to pay or present a defense with suspensive effect, with no suspension in cases tied to fraud, front companies or contraband goods.
• Sanctions include loss of fiscal benefits, exclusion from public tenders, and a bar on requesting or continuing judicial reorganization; processes halt with full payment or compliant renegotiation.
• The text couples enforcement with cooperation programs such as Confia, Sintonia and OEA, and its backers cite Receita data on roughly 1,200 CNPJs and about R$ 200 billion in debts, linking schemes to organized crime operations.