ME Ordinance No. 13/20, issued on February 13, made a series of amendments to MF Ordinance No. 479/00, which deals with the accreditation of financial institutions to provide federal revenue collection services.

The paid purchase of real estate is a taxable event that generates the Property Transfer Tax (ITBI), paid by purchasers. The rate of this municipal tax varies between 2% and 5% of the transaction value or reference value of the property (calculated based on what each municipality considers to be its market value), whichever is higher.

On February 19, the Joint Commission for Executive Order No. 899/19 approved the text of the bill to convert the Executive Order (MP) in law, which is now to be voted in the Chamber of Deputies. The so-called Taxable Person MP was published on October 17, 2019, with the purpose of regulating tax transactions, which has been admitted by the National Tax Code for over 50 years. The measure aims to reduce tax litigation and to fill the public coffers for debts deemed irrecoverable or difficult to recover.

The Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM), through Public Hearing SDM No. 07/19, proposes to regulate, pursuant to article 291 of the Brazilian Corporations Law, a scale to reduce the percentage of share capital provided for in paragraph 4 of article 159. The objective of the draft instruction, currently under review by the agency is to make it easier for minority shareholders to file civil liability suits against officers and directors. If approved, the draft may have some impacts, which are analyzed below.

On February 6, the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) issued Instruction No. 619, which amends specific issues of Instruction No. 592/17 (on the activity of securities consulting), to expressly allow investment consultants based abroad to operate in Brazil.

Discussions related to working hours and control thereof are extremely relevant for companies in Brazil, due to the large number of lawsuits in the Labor Courts involving the payment of overtime, a problem historically related to two factors: