RFB changes rules on the CNPJ
Fernanda Approbato de Oliveira
Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service (RFB) recently published Normative Ruling No. 1634/2016, which altered the rules that govern the National Register of Corporate Taxpayers (CNPJ).
Among the main changes is the inclusion of rules regarding the “Final Beneficiary”, aiming at helping in the fight against corruption and money laundering. This requirement seeks to achieve greater transparency by identifying the actual beneficiaries of the companies and funds invested in the country.
RFB also started to require the identification of non-resident corporate investors, in line with Ruling No. 560/2015 of the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM), as well as the provision of the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI), for entities that have this identifier, which is part of an international database that is used by several countries and aims at increasing security for the relevant international financial transactions.