In an interview with Valor Econômico, our partner Ana Cláudia Utumi explains the changes to the ICMS tax on fuel.

Ana explains that the amount charged per liter is the same throughout the country, with a change once a year. Until 2022, she recalls, the charge was “ad valorem”, with a rate applied to the price of the fuel. As a result, price fluctuations were immediately reflected in the amount of tax collected. Now, the “ad rem” collection takes into account the average modal rate, which has increased in the last two years, but is still lower than previously practiced, he explains.

“The situation is better than what we had in the past, when the rates were much higher, and this was defined by state. Today we have a lower rate, based on the rate applied to all other products, and a uniform charge throughout the country. This is positive, it gives us greater legal certainty,” he says. “It’s unfair for President Lula to blame the states for the increase in the case of fuel, because today it follows the general rate and there is predictability. The states are making changes (to the amount of ICMS charged per liter) once a year. They’re not making the change at will.”

Read the interview: https://valor.globo.com/brasil/noticia/2025/02/19/estados-tem-limitacoes-para-subir-preco-de-combustiveis-dizem-especialistas.ghtml