STJ to Rule on the Early Revocation of PERSE

In a decision published on October 27, 2026, the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) designated the dispute over the early termination of PERSE for judgment as a qualified (binding) precedent. The ruling was handed down unanimously by the Court’s First Section in Special Appeal (REsp) No. 2,261,411/CE, under the new “relevance” regime, which operates similarly to the repetitive appeals system (recursos repetitivos) and under which the legal thesis to be established by the Court will be binding on all courts nationwide.

Created in 2021, during the pandemic, PERSE (Emergency Program for the Recovery of the Events Sector) reduced to zero, for a period of 60 months, the rates of four federal taxes levied on companies in the events sector: Corporate Income Tax (IRPJ), the Social Contribution on Net Income (CSLL), the Contribution to the Social Integration Program (PIS), and the Contribution for Social Security Financing (Cofins). In 2024, however, Law No. 14,859 set a BRL 15 billion cap on the total cost of the benefit. Then, in March 2025, through Executive Declaratory Act RFB No. 2, the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service announced that this cap had been reached, thereby terminating the program early.

The early revocation of PERSE led taxpayers to file thousands of lawsuits. Their main argument rests on Article 178 of the National Tax Code (CTN), under which a tax benefit granted for a fixed term and subject to certain conditions may not be withdrawn before that term expires.

The STJ will now determine whether PERSE falls within the protection afforded by this provision. The decisive issue will be whether the program’s eligibility requirements, such as carrying out an activity listed among the eligible CNAE codes (Brazil’s National Classification of Economic Activities) and, in certain cases, being registered with Cadastur (the Ministry of Tourism’s registry of tourism service providers), constitute obligations imposed on participating companies in exchange for the tax benefit or are merely criteria defining who is entitled to the benefit:

“Whether the tax benefit established by Article 4 of Law No. 14,148/2021 (PERSE), originally provided for a period of 60 months, may be terminated before the end of that term because the fiscal cap set forth in Article 4-A of the same Law, introduced by Law No. 14,859/2024, has been reached, in light of Article 178 of the National Tax Code.”

In addition, to prevent conflicting rulings while the thesis is pending, the Court ordered a stay of all proceedings involving the matter until the dispute is finally decided.

Our tax team remains available to clarify any points or answer any questions you may have.