PIS/Cofins - Conceito de Insumos e a Questão dos “Insumos dos Insumos” - Proposta de Interpretação Teleológica e Uso de Argumento Econômico - Estudo de Caso do Setor Sucroalcooleiro

Abstract

This paper addresses the hard issue regarding the concept of “inputs” for the purposes of the Social Contributions’ legislation (PIS and Cofins). More specifically, we drive our focus towards a group of cases in which a given input is yielded internally by the companies (i.e., “verticalization”) - as it largely occurs, for example, within the extractive, agribusiness industries. For the purposes of this paper, we advocate an economics approach, since the lawmakers of PIS/Cofins’s legislation had stated expressly, at time of its enacting, that one of its main goals was to avoid an “artificial verticalization” of companies. Thus, the paper intends to grasp such concept of “artificial verticalization” by means of a neo-institutional economics approach. After, we pursue to a case of study from the sugar-alcohol industry. Then, we assess a very important precedent on the subject, which has been issued by the Brazilian Highest Administrative Court on Tax Matters (Carf). Finally, we point out our conclusions.