Law No. 8,248/1991
Brazil's Information Technology Act
If your company develops or manufactures information and communication technology goods in Brazil, part of your revenue is already committed to research and development. The question is not whether you will invest — it is where.
Legal basis: Law No. 8,248/1991, as amended by Law No. 13,969/2019. ICT accreditation by CATI, Decree No. 3,800/2001.
The mechanism
An obligation that turns into a credit
Law No. 8,248/1991 — known as the Lei de Informática and now titled the Lei de TICs (Information and Communication Technologies Act) by Brazil's Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation — grants companies that develop or manufacture information and communication technology goods a financial credit arising from what they invest in research, development and innovation. Since Law No. 13,969/2019 the benefit is no longer an IPI tax reduction: the credit can be offset against federal taxes administered by the Federal Revenue Service, or refunded in cash, with five years to be used.
In return, the benefiting company must invest annually, in Brazil, at least 5% of its gross domestic-market revenue from the sale of those goods, and must comply with the Basic Productive Process (PPB).
How that investment is split
Article 11, paragraph 1 requires that at least 2.3% of gross revenue be applied as follows:
- ≥ 1%
Agreements with accredited ICTs
Applied through agreements with Scientific, Technological and Innovation Institutions accredited by the committee — CATI.
- ≥ 0.8%
ICTs in the Sudam, Sudene and Central-West regions
The same rule, reserved for ICTs headquartered or with their main establishment in those regions, excluding the Manaus Free Trade Zone.
- ≥ 0.5%
Deposit into the FNDCT
Quarterly deposit into Brazil's National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development.
- Alternative
Priority programmes
Application in programmes and projects of national interest designated as priorities by the committee, which may replace the three items above.
Percentages as per the wording in force of Article 11, paragraph 1 of Law No. 8,248/1991. Calculating the amount owed by your company is a tax matter and should be checked with your finance department.
Item II
The law reserves a share for ICTs in the Northeast. The Institute is one of them.
Item II of Article 11, paragraph 1 is not a regional footnote: it is a statutory reservation. The law sets aside a percentage of its own, at least 0.8% of gross revenue, to be applied specifically in ICTs headquartered in the areas of influence of Sudam, Sudene and the Central-West region.
…headquartered or with their main establishment located in the areas of influence of Sudam, of Sudene and of the Central-West region, excluding the Manaus Free Trade Zone…
Law No. 8,248/1991, Article 11, paragraph 1, item II
Instituto Iracema has its own headquarters in Fortaleza, Ceará — within the area of influence of Sudene — and is an ICT for the purposes of this Act: Article 11, paragraph 22 adopts the definition in Law No. 10,973/2004, which since 2016 includes non-profit private legal entities. But this tranche does not go entirely to a private ICT.
Paragraph 3 requires that no less than 50% of the funds under item II go to ICTs created and maintained by government, or to public research and higher-education institutions, headquartered or with their main establishment in the same region. Half of that slice belongs to a public institution; the other half may be applied in a private ICT in the region.
How the item II tranche splits
up to 50%
Private ICT in the region
May be applied at Instituto Iracema — a non-profit private ICT with its own premises and laboratories in Fortaleza.
at least 50%
Public institution in the region
Reserved by law for ICTs created and maintained by government, or for public research and higher-education institutions, headquartered or with their main establishment in the same region.
Advisory
Knowing where you may apply it comes before executing
Most companies arrive knowing they must invest, and not knowing how the obligation splits. Item I, item II, the paragraph 3 reservation inside item II, the FNDCT deposit, the priority-programme alternative in item IV — each tranche has its own destination, and applying it at the wrong institution does not discharge the obligation.
Before talking about execution, the Institute maps this out: which tranches your company has, what each one can fund and where each one may be applied.
When a tranche is reserved by law for a public institution, the work does not stop there: the Institute structures the project and refers it to a partner accredited public institution in the same region — the same model it uses on the EMBRAPII route.
- Mapping the tranches of your obligation and what each one can fund
- Fitting the project to the right tranche, with the documentation that supports the spending
- Referral to a partner public institution when the tranche is reserved by law
- Technical execution in the Institute's laboratories when the tranche allows a private ICT
Accreditation
Accredited by CATI to carry out the Act's R&D
CATI, the Brazilian Information Technology Committee, accredited Instituto Iracema as an institution qualified to carry out research and development activities for the purposes of Article 11, paragraph 1 of Law No. 8,248/1991.
- Institution
- Instituto Iracema de Pesquisa e Inovação
- CNPJ
- 15.750.978/0001-48
- Accreditation instrument
- CATI Resolution No. 1,019/2024
- Purpose
- Article 11, paragraph 1 of Law No. 8,248/1991
CATI was created by Article 21 of Decree No. 3,800/2001 and installed in February 2002. It is made up of representatives of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Communications, CNPq, BNDES and Finep, plus four representatives of the business sector and four of the scientific community. Its remit includes setting the accreditation criteria for institutions qualified to carry out R&D under the Act.
See all accreditations →What the Institute delivers under the agreement
Running R&D under the Information Technology Act is not just about having a lab: it is about defending the spending under audit.
Our own facilities
Laboratories for embedded systems, SMD production, mechanical prototyping and software, at our own premises in Fortaleza.
Team and governance
Technical staff and a Technical-Scientific Council responsible for managing, monitoring, evaluating and reporting on projects.
Documentation and financial reporting
Technical and financial reports with full traceability of scope, targets and funds applied.
The calendar the law imposes
Deadlines under Article 11, paragraph 9 that the benefiting company must meet — and that project execution has to keep pace with.
- 31 July
Compliance statements
Submission of the statements evidencing compliance with the obligations, each calendar year.
- 30 September
Report and opinion
Submission of the report and the opinion on the application of the funds, each calendar year.
The independent audit report is waived for companies with annual revenue below R$ 10 million; when required, its cost is deductible up to a limit of 0.2% of annual revenue.
Who it applies to
The obligation to invest applies to companies benefiting from the Act's incentives. The split in paragraph 1 — the 1%, the 0.8% and the FNDCT — does not apply to companies whose annual gross revenue is below R$ 30 million. Above that threshold, an agreement with an accredited ICT is part of how you comply.
What about the Lei do Bem?
The two do not simply stack. Article 26 of Law No. 11,196/2005 rules out the Lei do Bem regime for companies using the Information Technology Act's benefits — but paragraph 4 carves out the company's other activities, and paragraphs 1 and 2 allow, for informatics and automation activities, a deduction of up to 160% of R&D outlays (up to 180% depending on the number of researchers employed).
See the Lei do Bem route →Who has already done this here
Manufacturers in electromedical devices, energy metering, telecom, security and mobility have already run research and development projects with the Institute.
Ready to structure the agreement?
Bring us the technical challenge and your tax calendar. Our team assesses the scope and puts together the proposal.
Talk to our team