Between September 28 and October 5, Brazil’s National Mining Agency (ANM) published or announced four developments involving the Financial Compensation for the Exploitation of Mineral Resources (CFEM): a summary ruling on the calculation basis, a call for input on joint oversight with the States and Municipalities, a transparency platform for distribution, and a regulatory agenda that still holds new rules in store. Taken separately, they look like unrelated topics. Taken together, they show where CFEM collection and oversight are headed, and what that means for those who pay the compensation.
Summary Ruling No. 18
Published in the Federal Official Gazette (DOU) on October 1, Summary Ruling No. 18 addresses a question about the calculation basis: where the ore dressing of a mineral ends and, with it, the point at which CFEM applies. Decree No. 1/1991 provides that the ore dressing process is delimited by the loss of the mineralogical characteristics of the substances.
For taxable events occurring before Law No. 13.540 of December 18, 2017, ANM found that this provision has limited effectiveness, because it depends on a complementary norm that has not yet been issued. In the absence of such a norm, the only valid criterion for defining the point of incidence of CFEM, and therefore the calculation basis, is the stage of the production process prior to the scope of incidence of the Tax on Industrialized Goods (IPI).
This understanding will be applied to proceedings whose taxable event predates the law, so it may matter to anyone with proceedings still open for that period.
Call for Input No. 5/2026
Today, October 5, ANM opens Call for Input No. 5/2026 (Tomada de Subsídios), which accepts contributions through November 4 on a draft resolution that aims to regulate Adhesion Agreements between ANM, the States, the Federal District and the Municipalities. The proposal provides for cooperation on actions, information sharing and support for the oversight of mineral exploration and exploitation and of CFEM collection. The aim is for more public bodies to be able to help oversee what is declared and paid.
Affected Municipalities Observatory
On September 28, ANM put the Affected Municipalities Observatory online, a platform with maps, data and explanations about the share of CFEM allocated to municipalities affected by mining. The idea is that anyone interested can look up the percentages in the provisional list for the 2026/2027 cycle and understand how they were calculated, and municipalities receive guidance on submitting appeals in case of disagreement. The tool is aimed at municipalities, but it expands the possibilities for public monitoring of CFEM distribution.
Regulatory Agenda
ANM Resolution No. 248 of October 1 extended the Regulatory Agenda, the agency’s planning instrument for regulatory projects, through December 31, 2027. In the thematic axis on revenue collection and oversight, the portfolio includes:
- the regulation of Law No. 13.540/2017 (market price, reference value and new category);
- the review of ANM Resolution No. 143/2023;
- the regulation of the offsetting of undue payments, that is, amounts paid that were not owed, and of the reconciliation of accounts in CFEM distribution.
Important rules are still being written, and it is in that process that industry input can shape the outcome.
What this means for those who pay CFEM
All four developments point in the same direction: more objective criteria, more public data and greater cooperation among public bodies on oversight.
For companies, the point of attention is consistency and traceability. The values declared and the methodology used to determine the calculation basis must be documented and able to withstand what may become broader monitoring. It is advisable to review the methodology and supporting documentation, especially in ore dressing cases and for periods before 2017, and to consider contributing to the Call for Input.
AI-Generated Image
