EMBRAPII was approved by CATI as coordinator of the PPI in IoT – Manufacturing 4.0. The objective is being an additional mechanism for companies benefiting from the Computing Law (Law 8,248/1991) to fulfill R&D responsibilities in accordance with such Law. From now on, companies will be able to deposit their R&D obligations under the Computing Law directly in the PPI IoT – Manufacture 4.0 and thus comply with the legal determination to obtain the benefits provided by the legislation.

From April 2020, all percentages of external and internal R&D spending can be deposited in the PPI, including investments in the regions of influence of Sudam, Sudene and the Midwest region (based on Law 8,248/1991, Art. 11, §1, item IV, and in §18, item III of the same article of the law).

The resources deposited in the PPI will be used exclusively for the contracting of demanding projects of the companies in IoT/Manufacture 4.0 using information and communication technologies (following the Computing Law rules) in partnership with the EMBRAPII Units accredited in CATI.

The resources coming from the PPI will be used as a financial counterpart from EMBRAPII according to the model of financial support already performed by this institution. Thus, companies that are required to apply R&D Computing Law may contribute their resources directly to the PPI IoT/Manufacturing 4.0, which will be applied by EMBRAPII in the development of IoT/Manufacturing 4.0 projects. Following is a script with the procedures to be used by companies to operationalize the resources contribution.

How can the company make the deposit to remove its obligation?
The company may, at any time and voluntarily, make the deposit for such PPI. To do this, it must perform the following steps:

1) Access the address:  www.facti.com.br/aporte/
2) Fulfil the company’s CNPJ
3) Choose the IoT/ Manufacturing 4.0 Priority Program
4) Select the tax year of deposit
5) Fulfil the deposit date
6) Enter the amount to be contributed
7) Press the button “send the data”
8) Pay the Union Collection Guide (GRU)

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

I. On the Contribution to PPI IoT/Manufacture 4.0

1. Can the company use the contribution in the PPI IoT/Man. 4.0 to remove its obligation related to the Computing Law (Number 8,248/1991)?
Yes, when depositing a value in the PPI “IoT/Man. 4.0”, the company removes the obligation relating to that amount. There is no other obligation for the company on the deposit, according to the rules established by the Computing Law (Law 8,248 / 1991), art. 11, § 1, item IV), amended and complemented by Law 13,674/2018.

2. Does the company have any responsibility about the appeal after the deposit?
No. By depositing in the PPI “IoT/Man.4.0”, the company has no more responsibilities and/or any interference with the provided resource, which is the responsibility of EMBRAPII. The company, on the other hand, is in accordance with the Law in the amount equivalent to the deposited value.

3.Is there an obligation for the company to hire the project for making a contribution in PPI?
No, the deposit does not create any obligation for the company. The resource is now used by EMBRAPII, within the rules established in the EMBRAPII Operation Manual for the support of industrial RD&I projects.

II.On the Relationship Between Companies and EMBRAPII Units (EU) and Project Contracts Under the PPI “IoT/Manufacture 4.0”

4.Which company can hire projects?
Any company that wishes to carry out RD&I projects in the area of IoT/Manufacture 4.0 with EMBRAPII Units and accredited by CATI may have resources originating from the PPI for their execution, once they meet the rules contained in the EMBRAPII Operation Manual, the rules of the PPI use, and the ones from the Computing Law.

5.Only the companies which have made a deposit can contract a project with the PPI resources?
No, the contracting of projects is not linked to the deposit. A company that wanted to contract projects with the EMBRAPII Units could do so even without having made deposits in the PPI. Project funding follows the rules of the EMBRAPII Operational Manual model. As already explained in question 2, the company that deposits will not have any interference on deposits made in favor of the PPI “IoT/Manufacture 4.0”.

6.Can a company make a deposit for PPI and dedicate it to an EMBRAPII Unit?
Yes, the company may deposit funds in PPI and dedicate it to an EU. But it is emphasized that, when depositing in the PPI, the company has no more responsibilities and interference with the resource. The amount contributed will be of responsibility and administration of EMBRAPII, which will transfer the resources to the EMBRAPII Unit according to the release of SEPOD/MCTIC.

In order to conduct this dedication to such project, the company must forward it to the EU having chosen the GRU of the deposit made on behalf of the PPI IoT/Manufacture 4.0. In the possession of the document, the Unit will notify EMBRAPII about the resource dedication.

7.Is there a value limit for the projects? What are the rules for hiring a project with PPI resources “IoT/Man. 4.0 “? What is the project financing model?
There is no amount limit. The company and the Unit negotiate among themselves the scope and values of the project to be executed, always following the rules of the EMBRAPII Operation Manual.

8.What areas are allowed for project contracting?
The objective of the PPI is to meet the technological challenges of the ICT sector, focusing on IoT and Manufacturing 4.0 areas. It should be emphasized that only the resources from this source can be received and used by the EMBRAPII Units accredited by CAT.

9.Will the resources be available in the form of continuous flow?
No, PPI resources will be available as SEPOD/MCTIC authorizes the release to EMBRAPII. It is important to emphasize that the contributions in the PPI by the companies are carried out in a private account controlled by SEPOD/MCTIC and administered by a supporting foundation. The transfer of funds to the PPI coordinator (in this case, EMBRAPII) will follow the rules established in the Ministerial Orders. However, it should be noted that, as a private resource, the amounts are free from the usual contingencies practiced by the Government.

10.Can the company choose the Unit to contract the project?
Yes, in general, the choice of the EMBRAPII Unit is at the discretion of the company.

11.How does the EMBRAPII supporting model work?
By the rule established in the Operating Manual, EMBRAPII provides non-reimbursable financial resources to the Units, up to a third (33%) of the portfolio of foreseen projects by the Plan of Action of the Unit which is executing the projects. The remaining two thirds (67%) are responsibility of the Unit itself, in the form of counterpart of economic and financial resources and the companies that contract the project, with financial resources of at least 1/3 of the Unit’s project portfolio. All projects supported under the EMBRAPII System must contain counterparts previously established by the EMBRAPII Units and the partner companies.

It should be noted that the negotiation of the values ​​to be contributed in a specific project and the participation of each of the actors (company, Unit and EMBRAPII) is defined during the negotiation of the project between the company and the EU, since they respect the established norms mentioned in the Operation Manual.

12.Is it possible to carry out projects with more than one company?
Collaborative projects involving several companies – called partnership for solutions – will have specific support from EMBRAPII. For this, two conditions must be met. The first is that the project has to be formally contracted jointly by two or more companies. The second condition is that at least one of the companies contracting this project must have a gross operating revenue (ROB) of R$ 90 million or less. When these two conditions are met, EMBRAPII support in the project may reach 50% of the value of the project contracted with the Unit. It should be noted that the rules of the Operation Manual must also be followed.

III. On the Compliance with the Computing Law

13.What should be considered to make the project to match the Computing Law?
The EMBRAPII Units are oriented to carry out projects strictly following the dictates of said Law and the rules established in the EMBRAPII Model, which are contained in the EMBRAPII Units Operation Manual. Which means, projects must meet both rules. EMBRAPII, through its monitoring and follow-up system, is responsible for enforcing these rules in technical and financial aspects.

14.By agreeing with a project with an EMBRAPII Unit, is the company which deposited in the PPI IoT/Man. 4.0 exempt from paying the company’s contribution to a possible project with the EU?
No, when negotiating a project with a Unit through the PPI, the contracting company will have to contribute, necessarily, with its financial contribution, since the resources deposited in the PPI are the obligation of Law 8,248/1991. The contracting of projects is done with the use of legal obligation, following the rules of the EMBRAPII Operation Manual. The contribution made in the PPI “IoT/Man 4.0” does not exempt the company from its counterpart, nor from the responsibilities in the contracted project, under the terms of such Manual.

15.Is the resource deposited reserved for the company to contract the project?
No, the deposit in the PPI has the purpose of fulfilling the obligations of the company before the Computing Law (8,248/1991). Therefore, the resource does not belong to the company anymore, but to the PPI coordinated by EMBRAPII.

16.How does EU-directed deposit work?
By EMBRAPII rules, if a Unit collects with companies a value above R$ 5 million in contributions from companies directed on behalf of the EU, EMBRAPII will undertake to guarantee a portion of this value for projects of the Unit in “IoT/Manufacture 4.0” for a period of up to 6 months, upon a formal request introduced by the Unit to EMBRAPII. This period may be extended for six months by reasoned justification, sent by the Unit and with formal acceptance by EMBRAPII. It should be noted that the period for the EU to reach the minimum value for the guarantee will be the intervals of releases of appeal by SEPOD to EMBRAPII.

Through funding from the Unit of R$ 5 million, 70% of the amount raised [1] will be directed to the specific Unit and will be reserved for the contracting of its projects for a period of six months. The remaining 30% will be managed by EMBRAPII as follows: 25% of the value will be available in the other Units for the contracting of projects, independent of the company or for accreditation of new units, at the discretion of EMBRAPII. The remaining 5% is intended for administrative costs of EMBRAPII. It is considered as a deadline for the R$5 million the transference intervals by SEPOD.

 [1] If there is an administration fee charged by the supporting foundation that manages the appeal to SEPOD/MCTIC at the time of transfer to EMBRAPII, the proportion of the value will also be deducted from the amount to be dedicated to the Unit.