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On May 22, 2024, Law No. 14,859/2024 was published, known as the “New PERSE,” because it amended Law No. 14,148/2021, which established the Program for the Recovery of the Events Sector (PERSE), in addition to repealing Provisional Measure No. 1,202/2023.

Recall that PERSE, instituted on May 3, 2021, had as its primary purpose the reduction of the economic impacts of Covid-19 on companies in the tourism and events sectors and, to that end, reduced to zero the rates of IRPJ, CSLL, PIS, and Cofins.

According to Law No. 14,148/2021, the mentioned reduction was to last for 60 (sixty) months, that is, from March 2022 to February 2027, the time needed for legal entities in this sector to recover from the economic losses caused by the pandemic.

However, restrictions on this right were gradually introduced.

Before the original deadline expired, the Provisional Measure No. 1,202/2023 determined the repeal of PERSE, with a progressive resumption of the collection of PIS, Cofins, and CSLL starting April 1, 2024, and IRPJ on January 1, 2025.

Subsequently, Law No. 14,859/2024 was published, bringing several restrictions to the enjoyment of the benefit, such as: (i) reduction of the number of eligible economic activities from 44 (forty-four) to 30 (thirty); (ii) limitations on the actual profit and presumed profit tax regimes; and (iii) the possibility of sudden termination of the program before the initially established deadline (December 2026), should the projected public spending cap for the program (BRL 15 billion) be reached.

This occurred on the last 24th: the Federal Revenue Service published the Executive Declaratory Act No. 2/2025, announcing that the aforementioned cap had been reached and consequently the termination of the tax benefit program for taxable events as of April 2025.

As a result, companies have resorted to the Judiciary seeking rulings to ensure the enjoyment of the benefits for the originally foreseen period, with favorable reception from the judges.

The injunctions granted so far have been based on the consolidated understanding of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) (e.g., RE No. 169,880 and RE No. 91,291), according to which a tax benefit granted for a fixed term and under specific conditions cannot be revoked by subsequent regulation, as it constitutes an acquired right under article 178 of the National Tax Code. By disregarding these limits, the Executive Declaratory Act RFB No. 2/2025 would be violating legality and legal certainty. Some decisions have even imposed daily fines in cases of unjustified noncompliance.

In a more restrictive scenario, very few decisions have recognized the legitimacy of the PERSE repeal, but even then, only to produce effects after the expiration of the exercise anteriority deadlines (in relation to IRPJ) and the nonagesimal anteriority deadlines (regarding PIS, COFINS, and CSLL).

Written by lawyer Caroline Martinez de Moura.