ICMS and the offense under art. 2, II, of Law 8,137/90

Related issues

Authors

  • Roque Antonio Carrazza Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, PUCSP, Brasil image/svg+xml

Keywords:

ICMS, Tax crime, Taxpayer, Default, Civil imprisonment

Abstract

The article analyzes whether declared and unpaid ICMS constitutes the offense under art. 2, II, of Law 8.137/90 ("failing to collect, within the legal deadline, the amount of tax withheld or collected"). The author argues it does not, since the ICMS taxpayer is the merchant carrying out the commercial transaction, not the final consumer (mere economic taxpayer). The merchant does not collect tax from third parties, but calculates his own debt, offsetting credits (non-cumulativity principle). The failure to pay constitutes mere civil default, not a crime against the tax order. He also criticizes Law 8.866/94, which equates the defaulting taxpayer to an unfaithful depositary for purposes of civil imprisonment, considering it unconstitutional for violating constitutional guarantees.

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Author Biography

Roque Antonio Carrazza, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, PUCSP, Brasil

Professor Titular da Cadeira de Direito Tributário da Faculdade de Direito da Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo.

References

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Published

1994-10-01

How to Cite

CARRAZZA, Roque Antonio. ICMS and the offense under art. 2, II, of Law 8,137/90: Related issues. Brazilian Journal of Criminal Science, São Paulo, v. 8, n. 8, p. 103–110, 1994. Disponível em: https://publicacoes.ibccrim.org.br/index.php/RBCCRIM/article/view/3344. Acesso em: 20 oct. 2026.
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