Justice Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), revoked the preliminary injunction that had suspended the reduction of the Industrialized Products Tax (IPI) rates on products from all over the country that are also manufactured in the Manaus Free Trade Zone (ZFM). The decision takes into account that a subsequent rule reestablished the IPI rates for 109 products manufactured in the ZFM, which means that more than 97% of local revenue is preserved.
Competitiveness preserved
In the preliminary injunction, granted in August, the minister considered that Presidential Decree 11.158/2022 threatened the economic hub of the ZFM, since the IPI exemption is its main incentive. However, according to information from the Ministry of Economy, a new act of 8/24/2022 (Decree 11.182) guaranteed a reduction of 35% in the IPI of most items manufactured in Brazil and, at the same time, preserved the competitiveness of local products.
The new decree maintained the IPI rates for 109 products manufactured in the ZFM, which were added to the 61 products listed in the previous regulation. The measure was taken after negotiations conducted by the Free Trade Zone Superintendence with the main regional actors, aiming to avoid the impacts of the tariff reduction on the regional development model defined by the Federal Constitution for the industrial hub.
Constitutionality of acts
The decision was made in three Direct Actions of Unconstitutionality (ADIs 7153, filed by the Solidariedade party, and ADIs 7155 and 7159, filed by the Amazonas government) against the three previous presidential decrees (Decrees 11,047, 11,052 and 11,055/2022) that dealt with the same subject. The parties claim that the decrees would not have observed the selectivity imposed by the Constitution on the IPI and would completely alter the balance in the competitiveness of the ZFM's economic model.
Source: https://portal.stf.jus.br/noticias/verNoticiaDetalhe.asp?idConteudo=494270&ori=1