Brazil: Payments for trademark use to French entity subject to withholding tax

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Brazil: Payments for trademark use to French entity subject to withholding tax

Sponsored by

sponsored-firms-pwc.png
wood-copyright 320 x 215

The Federal Brazilian tax authority (RFB) has confirmed that payments for the right to use trademarks and know-how to a French entity should be subject to income withholding tax and CIDE.



The RFB published Solução de Consulta – Cosit 180/2018 (dated September 28 2018) on October 2 2018, confirming that remittances abroad in relation to the right to use a trademark and know-how should be classified within the meaning of Article 12 of the double tax agreement between Brazil and France (DTA). As such, this transaction would be subject to withholding tax at a rate of 15%. Further, the payment should be subject to the contribution for the intervention in the economic domain (CIDE) at a rate of 10%.

The opinion confirmed the RFB’s understanding of the operation of the application of the DTA in relation to royalty payments on the right to use the trademark and know-how. More specifically, such remittances should be subject to an income withholding tax rate of 15% under the ‘catch all’ paragraph of Article 12(2)(c), the RFB stated. Similarly, the decision confirmed the application of the CIDE rules on the remittances of such royalties abroad.

While a Solução de Consulta does not represent law or a legal precedent, it does provide further support and guidance for Brazilian entities in relation to how the RFB are treating these types of remittances.



giacobbo.jpg
Conomy

Fernando Giacobbo

Mark Conomy

Fernando Giacobbo (fernando.giacobbo@pwc.com) and Mark Conomy (conomy.mark@pwc.com)

PwC

Website: www.pwc.com.br

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

Pillar two compliance is creating unprecedented data demands for multinational tax departments, making closer collaboration with FP&A teams essential for accurate reporting and audit readiness
Among the arrivals is Andrew Howell, who leaves scandal-hit PwC Australia after representing PepsiCo in a high-profile TP dispute
ITR's podcast examines whether the big four have overarching cultural issues and assesses the competitive threat of technology-backed transfer pricing firms
The UK advisory firm has seen its global revenues expand by £27.2m following its listing and acquisition of Baker Tilly South-East Europe
Tax-trained John Sams, previously the firm’s CFO and COO, was appointed after a rigorous process, KPMG said
From Mauritius substance rules to Kenyan SEP tax and South African anti-avoidance measures, businesses must navigate growing scrutiny of cross-border IP structures in Africa
ITR spoke to multinationals, advisers and software providers about a June 30 deadline defined by faulty portals, high compliance costs and hard lessons
After years of onerous pillar two prep, businesses will be galled in seeing tax revenues outweighed by compliance costs
Tax advisers should revisit India secondment arrangements after the EY US ruling strengthened the Centrica precedent and raised fresh withholding concerns
Despite the shortfall, effective tax rates of multinationals have seen a ‘statistically significant rise’
Gift this article