JAC project is barred in Brasilia

The Government suspended the incentives of the new automotive system for the project of billionaire JAC Motors in Bahia, preventing the automaker to import cars from China without the surcharge of 30 percentage points in the tax on industrialized products (IPI). This IPI extra is charged from December 2011 to vehicles imported from countries with no trade agreement with Brazil.
Before the one-year delay of the project compared to the original schedule and change in ownership who transferred to Chinese group control of the factory, the Ministry of development's bar already three and a half months the renewal of JAC in Innovate-Auto-name automotive policy that releases tax benefits for investments in the country and comes charging the company additional documents about the venture.
The Government seeks to protect from the risks of a new case Asia Motors, as it became known that the automaker, in the Decade of 90, received incentives on importation of vehicles in Exchange for the construction of a plant in Camaçari (BA), same town where JAC is installing. In the end, the project never left the paper and Asia left a tax debt of more than $ 2 billion that is being charged by the Union.
In an attempt to reduce the mistrust that surrounds the project, the JAC reported this month that will resume in November, works stoppages since the completion, in April, of the earthworks. To this end, a funding of $ 120 million was approved by the Agency for promotion of Bahia, the Desenbahia, in resources divided, 50-50, between the State Treasury and the Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES).
The automaker estimates more 12 or 14 months to raise the factory, which means that the project will only be ready in the last quarter of 2015 or in the first quarter of the following year. If everything went as planned two years ago, around the time that JAC made the cornerstone ceremony to celebrate the start of work in the industrial pole of Camaçari, the factory was about to be opened at this time.
In June 2013, the project received a license valid for a year at the Innovate-Auto, what earned JAC the right to import up to 20 thousand cars without extra charge of IPI. The brand, however, would have to perform the physical-financial schedule provided for in the investment project not only to gain access to the second installment of this coat corresponding to 10 thousand vehicles, but also to be able to renew your license for another year in the program.
However, since the deadline for the first license, on May 31, the Government has not yet authorized this renovation, and has not yet been published by the Secretariat schedule approval of production development.
Sought by the value, the JAC, through its Department of communication, says that the process takes time because the company had to reintroduce the project by virtue of the ownership change that transferred to the Chinese group control of the business. Reversing a composition that, until the beginning of the year, kept the charge of the investment in the hands of Sérgio Habib, responsible for bringing the brand to Brazil, the Chinese have been given 66% of the shares and the remaining 34% were with the Brazilian businessman.
The Ministry of development, responsible for enabling companies Innovate-Auto, informs that the documents related to the process of renewal of the JAC are under analysis. The Ministry points out that the program is not automatic renewal and confirms that charged additional documents related to the project. The folder, however, does not tell what documents were requested, on the grounds that this information is sensitive.
On leads of the projects that have received incentives of the automotive system-between car factories ranging from luxury brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi the most popular brands like Chery, the JAC and Shacman, another Chinese carmaker, with plans to install in the interior of São Paulo, are the only ones who have not yet had their licenses renewed in the program. On the other hand, the Government also canceled the qualifications already obtained by these companies, which would require them to pay the IPI which has not been collected.
The JAC project in Camaçari foresees investments of r $ 1 billion in production of cars and urban vehicles of load. The production capacity is of 100 thousand vehicles per year. The automaker also cites the delay in licensing of the project and climatic conditions, with rain hampering the works, to explain the delay.