Open Lecture | The Criminal Implications

9 October | 5:30 PM | Room EBI-100 (Biotechnology Building)

As part of the open lecture for the "Obtaining and Using Evidence in Criminal Proceedings" course unit of the Master's in Law, specialising in Criminal Law, the session will examine the criminal implications of the non-payment of declared ICMS (Tax on the Circulation of Goods and Services), focusing on the distinction between mere tax default and the offence of tax misappropriation under Article 2(II) of Brazil's Law No. 8.137/1990.

Drawing on the case law developed by the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (STJ) and the Federal Supreme Court (STF), particularly with regard to the requirement of an intention to appropriate the tax amounts and to persistent non-compliance (contumácia), the discussion will address the evidentiary challenges involved in establishing these elements without turning repeated tax default into a form of strict criminal liability or resulting in the criminalisation of corporate financial distress.

The session will examine the principal types of evidence relied upon to establish the material elements of the offence, the requisite intent and persistent non-compliance, as well as the limits of circumstantial evidence in criminal proceedings. From a comparative perspective, the discussion will engage with the Portuguese legal framework governing tax breach of trust (abuso de confiança fiscal), seeking to identify similarities and differences concerning the requirements for criminal liability and the safeguards applicable to the use of criminal law in the field of taxation.

Learn more about the event here.