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| Antonio Mazzuco |
Byung Soo Hong |
By Antonio Mazzuco and Byung Soo Hong
Madrona Hong Mazzuco - Sociedade de Advogados
Export payment
The Central Bank of Brazil has issued on March 1 2012, Circular 3580, amending the rules applied to export prepayment transactions. Pursuant to the new regulation, the advance of receipts shall only be carried out by the importer for a limited period of 360 days. Before the Circular was enacted, the advance payments could be made by the importer and by foreign financial institutions or foreign investment funds without a period limitation. With this new regulation, as financial institutions and investment funds are no longer allowed to advance funds to exporters as export prepayments, all advances performed by such shall be registered as loans and therefore be subject to Brazilian taxation applicable to traditional foreign loans.
Securities negotiation policies
On April 7 2011 BM&BOVESPA issued Circular Letters 017/2011--DP, 018/2011--DP and 019/2011--DP. These determined that all publicly listed companies included in the special segments of the Brazilian stock exchange market of BM&BOVESPA of the New Market and Levels 1 and 2 of corporate governance shall prepare, disclose and submit, within the term of one year counted as from the date that the new rules regarding corporate governance came into force (May 10 2011), both their securities negotiation policies and their codes of conduct. Failing to submit in a timely fashion will result, without prejudice to other non--pecuniary penalties that may be imposed to the companies, in the payment of a fine in the amount of R$5,000 ($2,669) by the company’s manager in the event of the securities negotiation policies, and R$20,000 fine in case of the Code of Conduct
New anti--money laundering hypothesis
With the purpose of preventing any conducts that may be considered anti--money laundering and terrorism financing, as included in Law 9,613/98, the Central Bank of Brazils enacted on March 12 2012, Circular Letter No. 3,542, including 63 new situations related to clients and financial institutions that can be interpreted as a money--laundering conducts. The new events included by the mentioned Circular Letter encompass transactions of foreign investments and international business.
Financial institutions require central banks’ authorisation to invest in companies
On March 29 2012 the Central Bank of Brazil issued Resolution 4,062. This amended Resolution 2,723 of March 31 2000, determining that all financial Institutions and others authorised by such authority shall require prior authorisation from the Central Bank in the event of purchase of direct or indirect corporate interest or increase in equity investment in the corporate capital of companies headquartered in Brazil or abroad. Such prior authorisation is not required for the investment in companies whenever included in the investment banks’ portfolios, development banks, multiple banks with investment or development portfolios or funding agencies and only allows the investment in companies that carry out complementary or subsidiary activities with the participant institution.