Those responsible for issuing invoices in companies should be aware of an important change that will take place in the process of issuing Electronic Invoices (NF-e) in Brazil. Through Sinief Adjustment No. 43/2023, the National Finance Policy Council (Confaz) has determined that as of 1 August 2024, NF-es will no longer be denied, but will instead be rejected. However, according to Technical Note no. 2024.001, the effective implementation of this change will take place from 2 September 2024, giving companies an additional month to adjust to the new rules.

What changes with the new regulations?

Previously, an NF-e was denied when tax irregularities were detected, such as non-compliance with ancillary obligations that resulted in the blocking of the sender's or recipient's State Registration. This status was definitive and made it impossible to correct, cancel or disable the invoice number, which remained registered in the database of the State Department of Finance (Sefaz). Although they had no fiscal value, denied invoices had to be recorded in the accounts and archived for five years.

By replacing denial with rejection, rejected invoices will still indicate irregularities, but those responsible for issuing them will be able to correct this information and send the invoice back for validation. This will allow for greater flexibility in the process and reduce the impact of small errors that would previously have resulted in the definitive denial of the NF-e.

Care needed to avoid rejection

Given that NF-es will be rejected rather than denied, the professionals in charge of issuing them will have to take extra care to avoid rejecting them. Some essential measures include:

• Validation of registration dataCheck that the issuer's and recipient's details are correct and up to date. The recipient's state registration can be validated via Sintegra.
• Correction of banknote numbering and seriesMake sure that the numbering and series of the NF-e are entered correctly.
• Monitoring the emission system: Constantly check communication with the Sefaz system to avoid failures during the issuing process.
• Adaptation of the issuing softwareMake sure that the software used to issue the banknotes complies with current regulations and the latest technical updates.

Impact on companies

This change in the process of issuing NF-es aims to improve efficiency and flexibility in the fulfilment of tax obligations by companies. However, it requires greater attention on the part of the professionals responsible for issuing the invoices, since irregularities can be corrected, but they need to be identified and dealt with quickly to avoid problems with the tax authorities.

With the new regulations coming into force from September 2024, it is essential that companies start preparing now by reviewing their internal processes and updating their systems to ensure they are ready for this smooth transition.