The 2027 switchover: presumed CBS credit on inventory

The dates that matter

One detail that tends to cause confusion: the credit applies to the inventory existing on January 1, but the regulation requires the inventory to be taken on December 31, 2026. The regulation itself clarifies that January 1 is not included in the count.

Who can have the credit

The first requirement is to be subject to the regular CBS regime. In addition, the inventory must fit one of three situations provided by law.

• Companies under the cumulative PIS and Cofins regime on December 31, 2026Generally, under the Presumed Profit regime (Lucro Presumido). The credit covers goods that did not generate a credit precisely because of that regime.
• Products with concentrated taxationBought under tax substitution or with monophasic PIS and Cofins, only in the cases the law lists: medicines (Law 10,147/2000, art. 1, I); vehicles, auto parts, new tires and inner tubes (Law 10,485/2002); motorcycles (Provisional Measure 2,158-35/2001, art. 43); cigarettes (Law 9,532/1997, art. 53); and cigarillos (Law 12,402/2011, art. 6, II). Belonging to the category is not enough on its own: you must check that the product is expressly named in the provision. Perfumery, hygiene products, beverages and other monophasic goods that are not on this list do not generate the credit under this scenario.
• Companies under both regimes at the same timeSome companies under the Actual Profit regime (Lucro Real). The credit covers only the portion of inventory that was left without credit because of the partial-disallowance rule linked to cumulative-regime revenue.

For Actual Profit companies that were already taking PIS and Cofins credits on purchases, there is no automatic right to a credit on all of the inventory. What is assessed is the portion that, by law, was left out.

What goes into the calculation and what stays out

New goods are included, whether acquired from a company in Brazil or imported, and intended for resale, for the production of goods for sale or for providing services to third parties. The inventory covers merchandise, finished products, work in progress, raw materials and packaging materials that belong to the company.

Excluded:

• products bought at a zero rate, or with exemption, suspension or non-incidence of PIS and Cofins;
• goods for personal use and consumption;
• fixed assets and real estate;
• used goods;
• goods that belong to third parties, such as merchandise received on consignment.

Being in the inventory does not mean being entitled to the credit. Each item goes through the filter of these exclusions.

How the credit is calculated

• Goods bought in Brazil9.25% of the value of the eligible inventory. This percentage is specific to this credit; it is not the CBS rate charged on sales.
• Imported goodsThe PIS-Import and Cofins-Import amounts actually paid, excluding the additional Cofins-Import. The 9.25% does not apply automatically.
• Which inventory valueThe acquisition cost, under the income tax rules, and not the sale price. For finished products and work in progress, only the acquisition costs of raw materials and packaging materials count.

An illustrative example, with round numbers and unrelated to any client: a company has R$ 120,000.00 in eligible inventory of new goods bought in Brazil, already valued at acquisition cost. The credit is R$ 120,000.00 × 9.25% = R$ 11,100.00. Used in 12 equal installments, that equals R$ 925.00 per month less CBS to pay. The example assumes all legal requirements are met.

How the credit is used

• It only offsets CBSIt cannot be used against IBS (the new state and municipal consumption tax) or other taxes, and it cannot be converted into cash through a refund request.
• In twelve installmentsMonthly, equal and consecutive, starting in the period after the one in which it is claimed. If the credit is claimed in March, the first installment can already be used in April.
• Returned goods require a reversalIf an item from the opening inventory is returned on or after January 1, 2027, the corresponding credit must be reversed.
• The PIS and Cofins credit balance comes firstA company that reaches the switchover with a PIS and Cofins credit balance uses that balance before ordinary CBS credits. This priority belongs to the credit balance, not to the presumed credit on inventory, which follows its own rules described here.

A point of attention: because the credit can only offset CBS, companies that will have little CBS to pay, such as some exporters, may take a long time to use it up. This cash effect needs to be built into the numbers from the start.

Where the numbers tend to slip

The Federal Revenue Service will receive the inventory detail through digital bookkeeping, in Block H of the EFD ICMS/IPI and in the ECF records, which allows it to be cross-checked against purchase and sales invoices. Differences become unrecorded purchases, unrecorded sales or negative balances. With a credit calculated on inventory, that inventory now carries real money and draws more attention. The points that most deserve care:

• Inventory without reconciliationA counted quantity that differs from what the tax and accounting records show, or items with a negative balance.
• Wrong tax classificationIncorrect NCM, CST or CEST codes can classify an item as eligible when it is not, or the reverse.
• Items the law excludes entering the baseProducts at a zero rate, or with suspension or exemption, goods for use and consumption or fixed assets.
• Third-party goods mixed with the company's own inventoryConsigned merchandise or goods belonging to another company do not qualify.
• Wrong valueUsing the sale price instead of the acquisition cost, or adding costs the rule does not allow for finished products and work in progress.
• Imports treated as domestic purchasesThe calculation is different and requires separating the two groups.
• Weak documentationThe company must keep the documentation supporting the inventory for at least five years, counted from the date it was taken.
• Returns without a reversalReversing the credit after the switchover is mandatory and often goes unnoticed.