What they are sharing: that trucks with donations for flood victims in Rio Grande do Sul (RS) are being retained by the Rio Grande do Sul Finance Department (Sefaz-RS) to collect invoices and ICMS. Posts mention a checkpoint on BR-153, towards Erechim.
Estadão Verifica checked and concluded that: There are no inspection actions that prevent the transport of donations to municipalities affected by the rains, according to the Finance Departments of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. The government of Rio Grande do Sul and the Federal Highway Police also stated that there is no retention of vehicles by the IRS. An account on X (formerly Twitter) that published reports about trucks detained at tax stations said that the vehicles were released a few hours after the incident.
Vehicles with donations are not being blocked from tax stations in RS Photograph: Photograph
Know more: The report about the retention of two trucks with bottles of water for donation on BR-153 was published by an account on X on the 3rd. The person responsible for the profile said, in another post, that the trucks had been released five hours later. On the 5th, influencer Pablo Marçal echoed the report in a live broadcast and said that the Rio Grande do Sul Finance Department was blocking trucks with donations due to lack of invoice. Marçal’s content has been replicated by several users on social media, including a senator of the Republic. O Checks was unable to contact the influencer.
However, the day before the live de Marçal, Sefaz-RS had released a note stating that vehicles with donations had free passage at tax stations. “Understanding the public calamity situation experienced by Rio Grande do Sul, the State Revenue Service informs that vehicles carrying donations to those affected by the floods are not being detained at tax posts on the border with Santa Catarina. The measure seeks to facilitate the arrival of help to people in vulnerable and at-risk situations”, says the note.
Sefaz added that inspection work continues on the debts between Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, but the guidance for inspectors is the immediate release of cargo with donations.
In a message aimed at truck drivers and transporters, sent by the Sefaz-RS advisory service to Estadão Verifica, undersecretary Ricardo Neves Pereira added that “there is no retention of goods or goods intended for donations at tax offices. If there is a problem, immediately contact the entities representing the sectors and they will contact the State Revenue Service”.
The chief secretary of the Civil House, Artur Lemos, also denied the rumor on social media. “In this difficult time that we are going through here in Rio Grande do Sul, I come here to say that it is fake information that donations are being withheld for tax collection. Donations are free, there are no taxes charged,” she said.
The Santa Catarina Finance Department published, on Sunday, the 5th, that vehicles with donations have free passage orders. Santa Catarina is the only Brazilian state that borders Rio Grande do Sul. “There are no fixed inspection posts in SC (inspection is carried out in mobile activities) and there is no ongoing action on the borders with RS and PR . The guidance already passed on to all inspectors in Santa Catarina is for the immediate release of cargo with donations”.
By note, the SC Treasury confirmed that “we did not have any record of retention of vehicles with donations in State Revenue inspection activities in the State”.
The Federal Highway Police of Rio Grande do Sul also said that the information about blocked trucks is not true. “We are working tirelessly to save people who are in vulnerable situations and also to ensure smooth traffic so that donations reach those affected as quickly as possible,” he said.
Trucks with donations continued their journey in RS
The message circulating on social media was shared by a user of X (formerly Twitter). According to the author, on Friday, the 3rd, the trucks that were stuck on the BR-153 highway continued their journey towards Santa Bárbara and Veranópolis after five hours of waiting.
In a post on Saturday, the 4th, he claims that the vehicles were released after it was decided that donations would be made directly to city halls in the affected cities. According to the author, the intention was to donate the cargo directly to people who organized charitable actions, but donations could only be made without charging taxes if they were destined for government bodies or NGOs.
Photograph: Reproduction/Social Media
According to Decree 37,699/1997, from the government of Rio Grande do Sul, donations to government and welfare entities that provide support to victims of public calamities are exempt from tax in the State. The incentive is intended for donations of food, medicines, clothing, construction materials, among other essential items to serve the affected communities.
Although the rule establishes that only donations destined to government entities and bodies are exempt from taxes, the State Revenue informed that “at this time there is no retention of donations for inspection purposes.”
Find out how to donate to the victims:
Damage affects two thirds of the state
Rio Grande Sul is experiencing the greatest climate tragedy in its history. The heavy rains that began at the beginning of the month caused damage in two thirds of the State – 345 municipalities. Several regions have islands and people waiting for rescue. Hundreds of thousands of residents are without electricity and water. According to the most recent bulletin from the State government, there are 83 deaths and 111 missing. Civil Defense counts 850 thousand people. Among them, 121 thousand are homeless and almost 20 thousand are in public shelters.
Find out how to donate
Donations must be sent to the State Civil Defense Logistics Center, at Avenida Joaquim Porto Villanova, 201, in Porto Alegre. The contact telephone number is (51) 3210-4255. The state Civil Defense is receiving donations of mattresses (new or in good condition), bed and bath linen, blankets, drinking water, animal food and closed food baskets to support the victims.
The Carrefour Brasil Group offers 20 stores, in ten cities in Rio Grande do Sul, to receive donations. The group has a partnership with the NGO Ação Cidadania, in charge of organizing the logistics for distributing the collected items. See the list of units.
Cash donations must be sent to the SOS Rio Grande do Sul account, linked to Banco Banrisul, using Pix key 92.958.800/0001-38 (CNPJ). Whatever is collected must be used to support victims and rebuild the cities’ infrastructure.
How to deal with posts like this: It is common that in times of public calamity, as in this case of the biggest natural disaster in Rio Grande do Sul, misinformation grows on social media, which hinders the action of public authorities and volunteers. Before believing the content and sharing, look for reliable information from the professional press and public bodies. Searching for keywords on Google, such as blocked vehicles + donations + Rio Grande do Sul, we found the official notes from the state government.
Tags: Trucks donations rain victims subject tax collection invoice
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