Brazil

Firm overview

VRBF’s Tax practice is divided into two areas: (i) tax consulting (direct and indirect taxation advisory and cross-border transactions matters); and (ii) tax litigation on administrative and judicial courts regarding all tax matters (direct and indirect taxes). Customs is also practiced by the tax teams.

The teams have a deep knowledge about the tax rules in force and the Case-Law and some of the advisors have intense academic activities, what is reflected in the very sophisticated work they develop concerning complex issues.  

VRBF tax team has another very important and refined skill which refers to working with free-trade zones and the Special Economic Zone called Zona Franca de Manaus, where one of the offices are located. Tax incentives are a core topic of VRBF’s tax practice.

Firm overview

Bocater, Camargo, Costa e Silva, Rodrigues Advogados was founded in 1999. In addition to solid work experience in corporate law, capital markets and pension fund regulation, the firm also provides services in other business law practices, such as tax, banking, civil, labour, real estate, corporate governance, insurance, administrative (public affairs).  Bocater Advogados brings together lawyers with strong academic backgrounds and expertise in their respective areas, forming teams that are able to provide legal advice and assistance that meets their clients’ expectations, in both consulting and litigation. Bocater Advogados fundamental commitment is to provide clients with services of high technical quality, following ethical and professional standards, and offering practical and objective solutions to clients’ issues. Over the years, the firm and many of its professionals have been recognized among Brazilian leading lawyers in their practice areas by national and international publications.

Firm overview

Garrigues Consultores Tributários is part of the Garrigues international network of law and tax consulting firms.

In Brazil, Garrigues operates exclusively in the tax accounting and consulting fields, and is the Brazilian Member Firm of Taxand, a global network of tax firms.

Garrigues, through a multidisciplinary team, focuses on international tax, deal advisory and M&A tax, as well as in complex tax consultancy for large and medium-size multinationals in a wide range of sectors. Moreover, Garrigues advise on corporate tax, indirect tax and value chain transformation, transfer pricing calculation, administrative tax controversy and wealth. 

Firm overview

Utumi Advogados was born from a long-held dream of tax practitioner Ana Cláudia Akie Utumi. After more than 25 years leading tax teams in consulting company and big law firms, Ana Cláudia launched in 2017 Utumi Advogados, a boutique firm dedicated to tax law. Alongside her is partner Camila Abrunhosa Tapias, high qualified tax professional whose experience includes having worked in one of the largest Brazilian full-service law firms for almost 20 years.

Utumi Advogados’ team is known for its excellence and creativity in devising legal solutions to clients, when handling both tax consultancy and litigation matters. Our expertise includes strategic tax consulting, legal tax opinions, tax policy and tax litigation. 

Its clients include large national and multinational companies from a broad range of sectors, such as banking and finance, beverages, cosmetics, telecoms and technology, and also Brazilian and foreign private clients. 

We offer our clients a 360º view, taking into account not only the specifics of each business, current legislation and case law, but also potential risks, trends in tax interpretation by the courts and potential changes in law, as well as possible related economic issues. 

Firm overview

Our team has far-reaching and innovative expertise across the entire tax spectrum. The practice coordinates its efforts with other disciplines in the firm to provide the best team approach to each client matter. Also, our attorneys have vast experience gained in both private practice and government, including deep knowledge in the academic sphere of Tax Law, Constitutional Law and Financial Law, to mention a few. 

The strategic litigation’s tax practice advises clients in trial and appellate proceedings with an emphasis in appellate litigation at the Federal Supreme Court and the Superior Court of Justice. Our team also has substantial experience in advising clients and business associations on strategic legislative proposals and direct engagement with public and private actors related to the Brazilian Tax System.

Our services include legal advice and specialized legal opinions addressing the applicability of Brazilian Tax Laws and the interpretation of these laws in foreign proceedings and legislation context. Our extensive experience in judicial litigation enables us to handle a wide range of matters involving municipal, state and federal taxes. Our partners have an exceptional ability to litigate in the trial of the most relevant tax discussions before the higher courts with a strategic view of all-important aspects involved in the decision-making process. 

Moreover, as we have an established advocacy team, our work focus on developing a 360° strategy for each case. We are proud to say that our team has an intelligence process, which considers four different outlooks: social, economic, political and legal. Therefore, we have a broader view determined always to establish the best approach and strategy to defend our clients’ interests.

Our tax team is recognized for the keen ability and experience to assess the impact of judicial and political tax decisions in the legal, political and economic environments. The tax partners provide extensive critical analysis and advice on the preparation of position and engagement papers, with suggestions for improving strategic legislative proposals and direct engagement with public and private actors.

We are committed to understanding our clients' businesses and provide tailor-made solutions for a variety of situations, from business strategies to specific legal services applied in structuring transactions to mitigate succession liabilities and also our singular vision of the litigation and legislative procedures.

Firm overview

Pinheiro Neto Advogados is a Brazilian, independent and full-service firm specialising in multi-disciplinary deals, and was the first Brazilian law firm to specialise in corporate clients. Over more than 75 years, the firm translates the Brazilian legal environment for the benefit of local and foreign clients.

Deeply specialized, our tax department is praised by its multi-technical knowledge, easy communication, responsiveness and client-centred approach, offering a unique excellence in service that covers administrative and judicial litigation, consultant advice, tax planning, transfer-pricing, direct and also indirect tax, social security, and transactional tax, especially for M&A and capital markets.

Regarding our specializations, with a straightforward approach and the ability to translate legal concepts into business language, the litigation team handles sophisticated cases before the administrative Courts, in all three levels of taxation (Municipal, State and Federal), and also judicial Courts.

We are also specialized in domestic and international tax planning, providing legal assistance in different structures and its tax consequences, in particular to large multinational groups and its multiple activities in several countries.

The team also works closely to the insolvency and restructuring area, assisting creditors, companies going through insolvency procedures and clients seeking opportunities to invest or acquire assets. Further, as a boosting industry, Pinheiro Neto became the leading firm in technology, which is supported by specialized attorneys.

Regarding social security, Pinheiro Neto has a qualified focused team dealing with administrative and judicial litigation, and advice on structure and implementation of remuneration methods, such as Profit Sharing Program, Stock Option Plans, and other models of contracting employees, directors and service providers, focusing on payroll taxation efficiency. The team also provides comfort to companies in judicial Pension Plans, the form of correction of reserves, as well as taxation on these amounts.