NFCom: New mandatory tax requirement in Brazil
Clause 3 of the first clause of SINIEF Adjustment No. 7, of April 7, 2022, shall come into force with the following wording:
"ICMS taxpayers are obliged to use the NFCom provided for in the "caput", as of April 1, 2025"
It is not news that Continuous Transaction Control (CTC) systems have become the new normal worldwide, causing more and more tax administrations to adopt electronic invoicing practices as a way to reduce tax evasion through process digitalization.
Electronic invoicing is a popular trend being adopted by countries that previously relied on paper-based models such as Serbia, Panama, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. However, even countries like Brazil, which are already advanced in this area, are also embracing innovation and using technology to improve the exchange of information between tax authorities and taxpayers.
In this case, we are talking about the new Electronic Communication Services Invoice - NFCom, model 62, created by Sinief Adjustment No. 7 in 2022. The establishment of this new Electronic Invoice Document (DF-e) aims to simplify the archaic and complex process of issuing invoices for Communication and Telecommunications services, models 21 and 22 respectively.
Under current legislation, companies in this sector must generate monthly files containing the invoices generated during the month in an XML pattern (known as CAT 79) and manually present them on the origin SEFAZ (Department of Treasury) website for post-audit. As this is a lengthy process for companies and difficult to track by SEFAZ, it makes sense to adopt a new, simpler model with real-time validations by the government.
The idea conceived for NFCom is that it will have an identical process to that implemented with NF-e (Electronic Invoice). Therefore, the following attributes are foreseen for NFCom:
- National NFCom layout in XML.
- Generation of NFCom Events, such as Cancellation or Replacement.
- Electronic signature using Digital Certificate - ICP (Public Key Infrastructure) standard.
- Standard graphical representation of the invoice - DANFE NFCom.
- Archive during the statutory period (5 years).
- Delivery of XML + DANFE NFCom to the client by email or other communication channel aligned between the parties.
- Contingency issuance in case of technical problems.
- For companies in the Communication (Broadcasting and TV, Newspapers, among others) and Telecommunications (Fixed, Mobile, and Broadband) sectors, this requirement will provide a great technological leap, simplifying processes and reducing the cost to comply with this legal requirement.
To get an idea of the positive impact that this requirement will bring to the market, according to ANATEL data, as of January 2023, over 336 million telecommunications service contracts were signed between companies and consumers, demonstrating the strength of this sector in the Brazilian economy.
According to the SINIEF adjustment, the NFCom is scheduled to come into effect nationwide on April 1, 2025. However, as of March 2023, it is already possible to test the transmission of NFCom to SEFAZ. Starting in June 2023, it will be possible to issue NFCom in a production environment, for companies that already want to start this process before the SEFAZ-imposed deadline.
EDICOM Compliance Platform
EDICOM has extensive experience in implementing global projects that ensure companies' tax compliance. EDICOM is expanding its service coverage in Brazil and is prepared to meet any requirement related to NFCom.
With a focus on excellence and constant updating of our solutions to meet new global tax requirements, we advise companies from more than 70 countries on their path to digital transformation in electronic invoicing.
These are the reasons that make EDICOM one of the main players in global tax solutions, with our electronic invoicing solution in the top 5 of the Fortune 500 list.
