On February 26th 2018, the Government of the State Amazonas has petitioned for the declaration of unconstitutionality of several provisions of Complementary Law No. 160/2017 and of ICMS Covenant No. 190/2017. The provisions regard the possibility (i) of remission of credits resulting from tax benefits which were not confirmed by CONFAZ; and (ii) the reinstatement of such benefits into the Brazilian legal framework. The Declaration of Unconstitutionality was distributed under the number 5902 to Reporting Minister Marco Aurélio, whom determined the adoption of a shortened/faster procedure, dismissing the possibility of an anticipated decision. The matter should be judged conveniently, after the Court's analysis.
The Government of the State of Amazonas request the acknowledgement of unconstitutionality of many dispositions of said legal institutes, based on the understanding that such provisions (i) harm the federative agreement due to implicit incentive to Tax War; and (ii) would result in unbearable damages to Manaus Free Trade Zone (“ZFM”), on which a positive discrimination factor was constitutionally put in place as a means of promoting regional development, since the provisions allow for the establishment of tax incentives at least as advantageous as the constitutionally granted to ZFM.