BRAZIL Law and Practice Contributed by: Paulo Honório de Castro Júnior, Bruno Marques Feitosa, Matheus Di Felippo and Urick Soares, William Freire Advogados
6.4 International Compliance Assessment Programme (ICAP) Brazil does not formally participate in the OECD Inter - national Compliance Assurance Programme (ICAP) as a participating tax administration. Although Brazil is an active member of the OECD Forum on Tax Administra - tion (FTA) and engages in discussions on co-operative compliance and tax certainty, it has not adhered to the ICAP as an operational multilateral risk assessment programme. Domestically, however, Brazil has developed risk- based compliance mechanisms that reflect certain elements of the co-operative compliance model. The Brazilian Federal Revenue Service (RFB) maintains a structured system of differentiated and special moni - toring of large taxpayers, based on continuous digi - tal cross-checking of data and risk assessment, with emphasis on self-regularisation before formal audits. While this model enhances oversight and interaction, it remains predominantly supervisory rather than trust- based. In the customs sphere, the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programme represents a more struc - tured voluntary framework, involving certification of internal controls and granting procedural benefits to low-risk operators. Additionally, the ongoing Projeto Confia aims to establish a federal co-operative com - pliance programme that may incorporate governance and tax control framework assessments. 7. Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) 7.1 Programmes Allowing for Rulings Regarding Transfer Pricing Law No 14,596/2023 implemented the procedures for Simplification Measures and Other Measures and the Specific Consultation Process in Matters of Transfer Pricing. In August 2024, the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service (RFB) launched a public consultation on a draft Nor - mative Instruction aimed at regulating Advance Pric - ing Agreements (APAs). The consultation period was open from 29 August to 30 September 2024.
As of February 2026, the final version of the regulation had not yet been published. Therefore, the comments provided in this section are based solely on the draft released for public consultation. The APA model proposed by the RFB is primarily uni - lateral, which represents a different approach from the one recommended by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The procedure proposed by the RFB largely follows the structure recommended by the OECD, comprising phases such as preliminary consultation, submission of a formal proposal, technical analysis, negotiation, and formalisation of the agreement. The draft also emphasises the importance of critical assumptions, in line with the OECD’s transfer pricing guidelines, demonstrating conceptual alignment with international best practices. From a practical standpoint, the Brazilian APA may establish simplified methods for: • determining the price, consideration, or profit mar - gin, based on the arm’s length principle; • assessing comparability, including the use of inter - quartile ranges or standardised adjustments; • allocating profits between related parties, when supported by functional and economic analysis; • documentation and reporting requirements, reduc - ing the complexity of compliance with ancillary obligations; and • monitoring and periodic review of the agreement, with objective and pre-defined criteria. Article 8 of the draft establishes that the APA may cover all of the taxpayer’s controlled transactions, or just a portion of them. 7.2 Administration of Programmes The administration of the APA will be the responsibil - ity of the Special Secretary of the Federal Revenue Service, linked to the Ministry of Finance.
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