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In 2014, ABLA held the first I Legal Forum for
the Vehicle Rental and Leasing Business. Dozens of
delegates from all over Brazil gathered to create an
institutional space dedicated to technical training,
knowledge building and the dissemination of best
practices in providing legal advice in the car rental
and leasing industry.
The Forum was designed so that different topics
and discussion formats alternated in five modules:
Opening, Business Law, Administrative Law, Tax
Law, and a Technical Symposium. The three main
themes (Business Law, Administrative Law and Tax
Law) were divided into panels in which the various
issues were addressed in succession. Each themed
block ended with a talk by a specialist on the specific
issue. Finally, a symposium was held on free themes
in which delegates were able to share their particular
or regional experiences in providing legal advice to car
rental and leasing companies.
Opening
| At the opening of the conference, given
by the author of this text, we sought to illustrate
the various legal challenges to the future of the car
rental and leasing business. The legal issues to be
discussed at the Forum notwithstanding, car rental
and leasing companies find themselves increasingly
impacted by regulatory issues. The increase in tax on
imported vehicles and tax breaks on the purchase of
new vehicles have produced significant distortions
in the car rental and leasing market. The increase
in scope regarding traffic for municipalities, brought
in by Constitutional Amendment 82, of 7/16/2014,
consolidated a trend that had already been detected to
boost municipal revenues through traffic monitoring.
And at the state level, the prospect of increasing tax
competition for the revenue generated by the vehicle
tax (IPVA) suggests the aggravation of initiatives such
as the “São Paulo IPVA,” by which the tax is payable
according to where the vehicle is driven and not the
domicile of the owner. These factors suggest that
the issues peculiar to rental and leasing companies
are far from exhausted, and recent developments on
several fronts merit attention.
Business Law
| The first panel was about
Business Law, bringing together issues relating to
liability and best contractual practices. The opening
talk was given by Alberto Nemer Neto, who spoke
about the Supreme Federal Tribunal’s docket 492.
He explained the different legislative proposals to
overcome liability exclusive to third parties created by
docket 492 and the challenges faced for the progress
of the draft bill in Congress.
The priority issues in Business Law remained the
STF’s docket 492. Experiences were shared and the
different approaches by state tribunals of justice were
compared. The growing perception in the industry
about a loss of revenue incurred by delays in the
delivery of new vehicles and the lack of spare parts
were also debated.
Effective vehicles are the ones are most available
for rental or lease and the lack of parts impacts this
important component of the business decisively.
There was a consensus on the importance of the
issue and debate on best practice in the management
and solution of these problems.
The charging of credits on car rental and leasing
companies through securities or other extra-judicial
bods and difficulties in protest was the subject in
which regional perspectives presented a significant
variation. In São Paulo a rental or lease contract
accompanied by statements can be protested, and
there is even a regulatory act on the subject; in other
states difficulties are being experienced with this
expedient.
Other issues discussed by the Business Law panel
were the legal management of the lease or rental for
foreigners and questions about the protection clause.
Legal Forum for the Vehicle Rental
and Leasing Business
A rich opportunity in which the best legal practices were shared,
problems discussed, knowledge spread and solutions presented.
JURÍDICO
LEGAL
Adriano Augusto Pereira de Castro*