Federal Revenue Service Rules Out PIS/Cofins Reduction on Operations with the Manaus Free Trade Zone

The Brazilian Federal Revenue Service (“RFB”) published Nota Cosit/Sutri/RFB No. 207 on July 14, 2026, reforming the position previously expressed in Nota Cosit/Sutri/RFB No. 141/2026. The agency concluded that the zero rate of PIS and Cofins provided for in Article 2 of Law No. 10,996/2004—applicable to sales of goods destined for consumption or industrialization in the Manaus Free Trade Zone (“ZFM”) carried out by legal entities established outside the region—is not subject to the linear reduction of tax benefits under Complementary Law No. 224/2025 (“LC No. 224/2025”).

The position was issued under the Receita Soluciona project in response to a request from the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), which sought clarification regarding the application of the linear reduction set forth in LC No. 224/2025 to the zero PIS and Cofins rate under Article 2 of Law No. 10,996/2004.

The interpretive doubt arose from the wording of LC No. 224/2025 and items 22 and 23 of the Sole Annex to RFB Normative Instruction No. 2,305/2025. These provisions referenced tax incentives applicable to legal entities established within the ZFM without clarifying whether the linear reduction would also apply to the zero PIS and Cofins rate on sales of goods for consumption or industrialization in the ZFM by companies located outside the area.

Initially, via Nota Cosit/Sutri/RFB No. 141/2026, the RFB took the position that the linear reduction under LC No. 224/2025 would apply to the zero rate under Article 2 of Law No. 10,996/2004.

However, in Nota Cosit/Sutri/RFB No. 207/2026, the RFB revised this position based on the Public Administration’s duty and power of self-correction (autotutela), concluding that the zero rate is not subject to the linear reduction introduced by LC No. 224/2025.

To substantiate its conclusion, the RFB analyzed whether the zero rate in Article 2 of Law No. 10,996/2004 fit into any of the statutory exception clauses provided under Article 4, § 8, of LC No. 224/2025.

In this context, the RFB highlighted that the Federal Supreme Court (STF), in the judgment of ADI No. 310/AM, recognized that Article 40 of the Temporary Constitutional Provisions Act preserved pre-constitutional ZFM incentives. This maintains in force the legal equivalence established in Article 4 of Decree-Law No. 288/1967, which treats national goods shipped to the ZFM as a Brazilian export to a foreign country for all fiscal purposes.

The RFB also noted that this export-equivalence status had already been recognized administratively by the Administrative Council of Tax Appeals (CARF) under CARF Precedent No. 153, as well as by the Federal Revenue Service itself in Cosit Consultation Solution No. 186/2024.

Additionally, the RFB cited the ruling in Repetitive Theme No. 1,239 by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), which established the precedent that PIS and Cofins do not apply to revenues derived from the provision of services and the sale of national or nationalized goods to individuals and legal entities within the Manaus Free Trade Zone.

According to the Note, the thesis established by the STJ binds the RFB pursuant to SEI Opinion No. 3,387/2025/MF issued by the Office of the Attorney General of the National Treasury (PGFN), which recognized the application of Article 19-A of Law No. 10,522/2002 and authorized the National Treasury to waive appeals and litigation on the matter.

Based on these grounds, the RFB concluded that the zero rate provided for in Article 2 of Law No. 10,996/2004 is shielded from the linear reduction of tax benefits under LC No. 224/2025, as it falls within the exception for constitutional tax immunities under Article 4, § 8, Item I of said Complementary Law.

Consequently, Nota Cosit/Sutri/RFB No. 207/2026 expressly overruled Nota Cosit/Sutri/RFB No. 141/2026, confirming that the linear reduction under LC No. 224/2025 does not apply to the zero PIS and Cofins rate on transactions destined for the Manaus Free Trade Zone carried out by entities located outside the region.