The Office of the Attorney General of the National Treasury (PGFN), a legal body linked to the Ministry of Finance, has appealed against the decision of the Federal Court in Rio de Janeiro that blocked the imposition of a 12% export tax on oil.
The confirmation of the appeal, known as an interlocutory appeal, comes from the Federal Regional Court of the 2nd Region (TRF2), which has jurisdiction over the states of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo.
The decision to suspend the tax was made by Federal Judge Humberto de Vasconcelos Sampaio of the 1st Federal Court of Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday (7th), following a request from five multinational oil companies: Total Energies (France), Repsol Sinopec (Spain and China), Petrogal (Portugal), Shell (Anglo-Dutch), and Equinor (Norway).
The 12% export tax is stipulated in Provisional Measure (MP) 1.340/2026, published on March 12.
The MP was issued in an attempt to curb the rising prices of oil derivatives in the country amid the Middle East conflict, which has disrupted the oil production chain and increased prices.
According to the government, the export tax is intended to compensate for the revenue loss caused by the elimination of PIS and Cofins rates, federal taxes levied on diesel oil.
The government also provided subsidies (a form of reimbursement) for diesel importers and producers.
The companies that felt aggrieved argue that the tax had a “purely revenue-generating” purpose, violating the principle of anteriority, which prohibits the imposition of taxes without a minimum predetermined period.
In the decision, the Federal Court contextualizes that the government maintains that “no new tax was created, but merely a rate adjustment, arguing that the previous zero rate was merely an economic policy to encourage exports and that the taxpayer had no vested right to maintain an incentivized rate.”
However, the magistrate cites a section of the MP indicating that “the revenue from the tax referred to in this article will be allocated to meet the Union’s emergency fiscal needs.”
Thus, the federal judge understands that the MP “unequivocally reveals the revenue-generating purpose of the measure” and would require the principle of anteriority, a provision in the Constitution.
In addition to suspending the tax, Humberto Sampaio ruled out any form of penalties or sanctions, such as preventing the renewal of the tax compliance certificate, registration in the Federal Public Sector Unpaid Credits Information Register (Cadin), protest, or any other restrictive measure resulting from the non-application of the tax now suspended.
The Brazilian Institute of Petroleum, Gas, and Biofuels (IBP), representing companies in the sector, had also criticized the tax.
For oil companies, the MP “imposes an unnecessary burden on a sector that already allocates about 70% of its income to taxes and government shares.”
Government shares are the royalties paid for oil exploration and the special participation, the amount charged from highly profitable wells.
For the IBP, the tax “compromises the legal security and competitiveness of Brazilian oil.”
Agência Brasil sought a position from the Ministry of Finance and is open to comments.
Source: Agência Brasil
Original published at O Cafezinho.