Brazil’s Supreme Court declares tax on foreign remittances constitutional

On August 13, 2025, the Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) issued a ruling on General Repercussion Topic No. 914, recognizing the constitutionality of a tax levied on remittances abroad known as CIDE Remessas.

During the trial, the justices of the court were in agreement as to the validity of Law No. 10,168/2000, which originally established the tax. However, significant disagreements arose regarding the extent of the CIDE tax base. Justice Rapporteur Luiz Fux was against levying CIDE Remessas on remittances that do not involve technology transfers, a position supported by Justice André Mendonça, Dias Toffoli and Cármen Lúcia. In turn, Justice Nunes Marques voted to remove copyright-related payments from the CIDE tax base.

Despite these diverging positions, the view of Justice Flávio Dino ultimately prevailed. He proposed a broad base for levying CIDE, provided the funds collected are used to support science and technology initiatives.

Note that even with the trial having now concluded, a motion for clarification of specific points may still be filed in regard to the court’s ruling once it has been published.

Furthermore, it is worth noting the court’s ruling did not encompass the possibility of excluding amounts corresponding to the Withholding Income Tax (IRRF) from the CIDE calculation base, as such amounts do not constitute an effective remittance abroad. A number of companies have already raised this issue.

Therefore, despite the court’s declaring CIDE on remittances abroad to be constitutional, the possibility of questioning the formation of the calculation base in court remains open – especially in regard to excluding IRRF from the amounts due.

For more information on this topic, please contact Mattos Filho’s Tax practice area.