Ten major Brazil steelmaking companies are set to start legal claims against the government's decision to reduce the tax refund ceiling on the exports program from the current 2% to 0.1%, said a top official of steel institute Aco Brasil on Wednesday.
"More than revert that decision, we are targeting predictability for 2019," said Aco Brasil president Marco Polo de Mello Lopes in a filing in the institute's website.
Before the government decision in early June, the national steel sector was asking for a 5% ceiling on the program, known as Reintegra. According to the institute, the compensation program is a tool for competitive equality, as it reduces total export costs.
According to Aco Brasil, the non-recoverable tax on steel exports' net revenues amounts to 7.1%.
"A 0.1% tax refund is non-viable," Lopes said.
Aco Brasil's proposal to the government was to consider Reintegra on a 2% basis, then each sector should show their tax refund owned.
