In 4 months, Sefa's inspection seizes nearly R$ 60 million in goods
Main seizures were of beverages, machinery, and fuels
The inspection of goods in transit by the State Department of Finance (Sefa) seized goods valued at approximately R$ 227 million – the value of the electronic invoices (NF-e) – resulting in Seizure and Deposit Terms (TAD) issued for R$ 59,660,000.00. Of this total, R$ 17.3 million was immediately paid by ICMS taxpayers, and the goods were released by the State Tax Authority. The main seized loads in the first four months of the year were beverages, machinery, and fuels.
The Secretary of Finance, René Sousa Júnior, assesses that transit inspection is an important component of state inspection and its importance will grow with tax reform. "The collection of the Goods and Services Tax (IBS) will be shared between states and municipalities. Errors or fraud in the indication of the destination of goods affect revenue collection. This motivates state and municipal tax authorities to act more rigorously in monitoring the circulation of goods," says the head of Sefa.
Last year, Sefa increased the speed of inspection actions in the transit of goods with the Central Monitoring of Goods, which monitors the electronic tax documents issued for loads destined for or leaving the state. The Director of Inspection at Sefa, Paulo Veras, highlights that this monitoring has strengthened the work of inspection.
Agility – According to the coordinator of Goods Inspection in Transit, Volnandes Pereira, the highlight of state inspection action in 2024 was the use of the Computerized Traffic Infraction Notice (AINF), which is issued without the need to draft the Seizure and Deposit Term (TAD).
"In 2025 we should start applying the cargo risk assessment, a preliminary evaluation of the transported loads that serves to select the vehicles that will be stopped for physical inspection, which should expedite the passage of vehicles through tax checkpoints," says the state revenue auditor.
“Some seizures are curious. This year, for example, there was an attempt to hide a machine inside a truck, concealed among sacks. Sometimes we find goods hidden among fruits and vegetables, which are exempt from tax. We have seen many cases of tax documents with incorrect information, trying to avoid paying state tax by claiming exemption under special regime. We managed to prevent tax evasion by verifying the goods and analyzing the data from the invoice in the system,” says Pereira.
Sefa has eight units for controlling goods in transit in border areas of the state. The Coordination of Goods Control in Transit in Itinga, located on the BR-010 highway (Belém-Brasília), on the border with Maranhão, carries out most of the seizures.
