On December 29th, 2016, the Federal Revenue's Normative Ruling RFB (IN) No. 1,684 was published, altering the Normative Ruling RFB No. 1,634 from May 6th, 2016, which rules on the National Registry of Legal Entities (CNPJ).

Among the other amendments made by IN No. 1,684, it is important to highlight the provision regarding the obligation of condominium sectors to be registered before CNPJ as branches of the main condominium, provided the institution of the condominium was already registered before the relevant real estate record file (item II, article 4, IN No. 1,634).

This provision will be very convenient to the so called "complex condominium" or "mixed use condominium", which can be established by the condominium bylaws. The condominium bylaws will provide, in this case, the economic specifics, responsibilities and prerogatives of each condominium sector, creating the pertinent legal framework of each sector without harming the synergy between the them, enabling the independence of each one of the sectors within the main condominium general rules.

In this way, the introduction of a CNPJ branch for each sector will facilitate the exercise of administrative autonomy of each condominium sector, clearly establishing the responsibilities and main costs of each one of the sectors. Thus, in the potential eventuality of liability and conviction of the condominium by an event for which the responsibility is specific to one sector, the relevant cost may be allocated and supported exclusively by this condominium sector, avoiding any interference with costs and budgets of other sectors or even of the condominium as a whole (although before third parties the sector of a condominium – such as for the branch – is not legally deemed as a separate entity of the condominium, since, and as has already been mentioned, the mere act of enrolment in the CNPJ is not enough to provide legal personality to a certain entity).

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