Article 4 For the purposes of this law, the following is defined:
I- Rural Property – a rustic building with a continuous area, regardless of its location, which is intended or may be intended for agricultural, livestock, plant extraction, forestry or agro-industrial exploration;

This definition will be the starting point for a series of obligations, which involve, among others, registrations with Real Estate Registry Offices, National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA) and the Federal Revenue Service. It is therefore important to be aware of the requirements of each body, which operate different systems, with equally different implications.

Like any property, rural properties are subject to registration with the Real Estate Registry Office (CRI). If there is no public deed or registration registered in the owner’s name, the first step towards regularization will be to obtain this registration through an administrative or judicial procedure (adverse possession, land regularization, grant of possession, etc.).

A path that will be more or less tortuous depending on whether or not there is documentation that proves the acquisition was made in good faith. In addition, for the Real Estate Registry Office (CRI), the characterization of a property as rural is given by the mention, in the registration, of the CCIR (Rural Property Registration Certificate), issued by INCRA (National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform).

The CCIR, in turn, is a registry existing within the scope of the SNCR (National Rural Registry System), which proves registration with INCRA, essential for the transfer, lease, mortgage, dismemberment or sharing of rural property. Issuing the CCIR requires the payment of a fee that varies according to the size of the property. Furthermore, the issuance of the document depends on there being no pending issues in the registration with the SNCR, such as outdated registration, irregularities in the registration, environmental issues, georeferencing problems, tax debts, among others.

Taxation on rural property, unlike what happens with urban property (on which IPTU is levied), occurs at the federal level. This is the ITR (Tax on Rural Territorial Property), governed by law 9,393/1996, which is based on the value of bare land, excluding improvements and any crops. The ITR (DITR) declaration must be made annually, until the last working day of September.

Finally, there is the CAR (Rural Environmental Registry), established by law 12,651/2012 (Forest Code), which seeks to integrate environmental information from rural properties into a single database. In this sense, it includes information related to size, location, land use and presence of native vegetation, among others, enabling greater control over compliance with environmental obligations.

There is no single path to regularizing a rural property. Before anything else, it is necessary to determine which obligations have or have not been met and which body should be used to regularize the situation. This is a complex activity, and before gathering the necessary documentation, it is essential to establish the best strategy to resolve any pending issues as quickly as possible.

Regularized rural property means security for those who sell, buy or rent, including in possible disputes against squatters, invaders, neighbors or former owners. Furthermore, it ensures the possibility of use as collateral in financial transactions, as well as access to special credit lines and incentives made possible through government programs aimed at the rural segment.

It is therefore important to seek specialized assistance in managing deadlines, obligations and other issues related to rural properties. It is essential to maintain registration and tax regularity, preventing expired taxes, permits, declarations or licenses, among other inconveniences, from causing harm to other negotiations.

PLBrasil Paralegal has qualified professionals and trained teams to provide full support to individuals and legal entities, including the regularization of rural properties. PLBrasil Paralegal also offers its clients, through its own platform, a document HUB, where all corporate documents and history are concentrated and permanently available, with constant monitoring of deadlines and obligations.