The Brazilian National Congress approved in April the Constitutional Amendment No. 87, which determines a new rule on purchases made online and by phone: Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS) will be gradually transferred from state of origin to the state of destination of the product or service.
This measure comes as an attempt to compensate the States that do not have distribution centers -concentrated in the southern and southeastern Brazil-.
It also makes gradual alteration in percentages, attributing the 100% of the tax to destination states in 2019. The transition rule establish that for 2015 the tax will be divided 20% for the state of destination and 80% for the origin; for 2016, 40%- 60%; for 2017, 60%-40%; and for 2018, 80%-20%.
The distribution system will be modeled as the actual tax substitution, with new rules by the National Council of Financial Policy (CONFAZ) and States.
In 2011, the CONFAZ tried to solve the situation themselves through the Protocol 21, signed by 17 states and the Federal District, determining that the tax was divided using the interstate percentage. However, the Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal, in Portuguese) eliminated the validity of the rule, determining that only an amendment to the Constitution could make a valid change.