STF extends IPI exemption on car purchases to hearing-impaired people
11 de December de 2024, às 22:25
Qualitare
By Mouzalas ADV
The Full Bench of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) has recognized the unconstitutional omission, in relation to the hearing impaired, of Law 8.989/1995, which deals with exemption from the Tax on Industrialized Products (IPI) for people with disabilities and has set a deadline of 18 months, from the date of publication of the ruling, for the National Congress to adopt the necessary measures to remedy the legislative omission. As long as the omission persists, article 1, item IV, of the law, which exempts people with physical, visual and mental disabilities and autistic spectrum disorders, must be applied to people with hearing disabilities.
The majority of the justices followed the vote of the rapporteur, Justice Dias Toffoli, president of the STF, and upheld Declaratory Action for Constitutionality (ADO) 30, filed by the Attorney General's Office (PGR), which claimed that the absence of this right for the hearing impaired creates unjustified discrimination.
For Justice Dias Toffoli, the IPI exemption on car purchases was implemented in an incomplete and discriminatory manner, by excluding people with hearing disabilities from the list of beneficiaries. "By doing so, the government offended not only isonomy, but also the dignity and other constitutionally recognized essential rights of these people," he said. According to him, in these cases, it is up to the Judiciary to adopt measures to "make the violated precepts effective, many of them very dear to the Democratic State of Law".
According to the rapporteur, the tax benefit was created as a way of carrying out public policies for the social inclusion of the people who benefit from it. Based on an analysis of the various pieces of legislation that have dealt with the subject, Toffoli noted the successive expansion of the list of disabilities covered by the exemption, and recalled that the idea behind the rules was to make it easier for these people to get around and improve their conditions for carrying out their activities, seeking care for their needs and achieving autonomy and independence. For this reason, he considered that there was no reason to prevent the tax benefit from also being applied to people with hearing impairments.
The president of the STF stressed that these policies are constitutional in nature and are connected to rights that are constitutionally recognized as essential, especially the dignity of the human person. He cited the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol, which is equivalent to a constitutional amendment, as they have been adopted by Brazil (Decree 6.949/2009), under the terms of art. 5, paragraph 3, of the Federal Constitution.
Justice Marco Aurélio was defeated, as he partially dissented. In his opinion, it is not up to the Supreme Court to set a deadline for the Legislative Branch to act, because if it doesn't, the decision becomes innocuous.
The Full Bench of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) has recognized the unconstitutional omission, in relation to the hearing impaired, of Law 8.989/1995, which deals with exemption from the Tax on Industrialized Products (IPI) for people with disabilities and has set a deadline of 18 months, from the date of publication of the ruling, for the National Congress to adopt the necessary measures to remedy the legislative omission. As long as the omission persists, article 1, item IV, of the law, which exempts people with physical, visual and mental disabilities and autistic spectrum disorders, must be applied to people with hearing disabilities.
The majority of the justices followed the vote of the rapporteur, Justice Dias Toffoli, president of the STF, and upheld Declaratory Action for Constitutionality (ADO) 30, filed by the Attorney General's Office (PGR), which claimed that the absence of this right for the hearing impaired creates unjustified discrimination.
Incomplete and discriminatory benefit
For Justice Dias Toffoli, the IPI exemption on car purchases was implemented in an incomplete and discriminatory manner, by excluding people with hearing disabilities from the list of beneficiaries. "By doing so, the government offended not only isonomy, but also the dignity and other constitutionally recognized essential rights of these people," he said. According to him, in these cases, it is up to the Judiciary to adopt measures to "make the violated precepts effective, many of them very dear to the Democratic State of Law".
Public policies
According to the rapporteur, the tax benefit was created as a way of carrying out public policies for the social inclusion of the people who benefit from it. Based on an analysis of the various pieces of legislation that have dealt with the subject, Toffoli noted the successive expansion of the list of disabilities covered by the exemption, and recalled that the idea behind the rules was to make it easier for these people to get around and improve their conditions for carrying out their activities, seeking care for their needs and achieving autonomy and independence. For this reason, he considered that there was no reason to prevent the tax benefit from also being applied to people with hearing impairments.
The president of the STF stressed that these policies are constitutional in nature and are connected to rights that are constitutionally recognized as essential, especially the dignity of the human person. He cited the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol, which is equivalent to a constitutional amendment, as they have been adopted by Brazil (Decree 6.949/2009), under the terms of art. 5, paragraph 3, of the Federal Constitution.
Justice Marco Aurélio was defeated, as he partially dissented. In his opinion, it is not up to the Supreme Court to set a deadline for the Legislative Branch to act, because if it doesn't, the decision becomes innocuous.
