A set of new rules that promise to simplify the relationship of foreigners and Brazilians living abroad was implemented in Brazil as of January 1, 2025.
The Central Bank of Brazil and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil (CVM) published Joint Resolution No. 13/2024, which significantly modernizes the well-known Non-Resident Account (CND). This initiative seeks to make the business and investment environment more accessible and aligned with international practices.
The CND, at its core, is a bank account in Brazilian reais (BRL) intended for individuals or companies that do not have tax residency in Brazil. It functions as a channel to move funds, invest, and hold assets in the country of origin or of interest, even while living abroad. The innovations introduced by the new Resolution mark a shift toward administrative simplification.
Historically, operating a CND was surrounded by complexities, requiring, for example, a legal representative in Brazil for various operations and the execution of simultaneous and mandatory foreign-exchange procedures. Registration in the RDE-Portfolio system, previously mandatory with the Central Bank of Brazil (Bacen), also added layers of complexity. With the new regulation, the good news is that much of this bureaucracy will be eliminated. The elimination of the requirement for simultaneous FX operations, for instance, reduces costs and speeds up transactions for investments in the capital markets. Likewise, the requirement to register with RDE-Portfolio has been removed.
This modernization paves the way for the CND to become a much more flexible instrument. From now on, funds deposited may be invested directly in a variety of securities and other financial assets in the Brazilian market. Individuals, in certain scenarios and within certain limits, may even be exempted from the need to appoint a legal representative in the country. The goal is clear: to facilitate investment and wealth management without the heavy administrative burden of the past. This flexibility is also vital for those who change their tax residency, as it allows them to maintain investments in Brazil without being required to sell them or close positions.
However, it is crucial to understand that, although more streamlined, the new regime maintains certain important restrictions. It will still be prohibited to transfer investments or securities of non-residents in ways that are not expressly provided for in the regulations of the Central Bank of Brazil or the CVM. In addition, Joint Resolution 13 now expressly prohibits receiving, paying, and other financial movements in accounts held abroad from the CND, with specific exceptions for transactions related to forward, futures, and options contracts on agricultural products, provided they are contracted in Brazil by non-residents and in compliance with the applicable regulations. Compliance with strict Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) standards remains a non-negotiable priority.
