# Law No. 2847 of August 18, 1956

> Brazilian law

**Wikidata**: [Q105649626](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105649626)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/law-no-2847-of-august-18-1956

## Summary
Law No. 2847 of August 18, 1956 is a Brazilian federal statute that grants exemption from import duties and customs fees for materials imported by the State of Paraíba. Enacted during the presidency of Juscelino Kubitschek and published in Rio de Janeiro, this law specifically targets foreign merchandise destined for the state government and municipal prefecture of Campina Grande.

## Key Facts
- **Official Title:** Lei nº 2847, de 18 de agosto de 1956
- **Publication Date:** August 18, 1956
- **Place of Publication:** Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- **Enacting Authority:** Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil
- **President at Enactment:** Juscelino Kubitschek
- **Determination Method:** Promulgation
- **Legal Classification:** Instance of a statute (formal written document that creates law)
- **Primary Purpose:** Grants exemption from import duties and customs fees
- **Beneficiary:** State of Paraíba (Estado Da Paraiba (Pb))
- **Specific Recipient:** Municipal prefecture of Campina Grande (Pb)
- **Targeted Items:** Foreign merchandise (Mercadoria Estrangeira) and materials
- **Taxes Exempted:** Import tax (Imposto De Importação) and tariff (Taxa Aduaneira)
- **Legal Citation Format:** Lei nº 2847/1956
- **Language:** Brazilian Portuguese
- **LexML Brazil Identifier:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1956-08-18;2847
- **Digital Availability:** Available at https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l2847.htm
- **Jurisdictional Application:** Applies to the entire Brazilian jurisdiction
- **Wikimedia Project Status:** On focus list of WikiProject Brazilian Laws
- **Statute Classification:** Subclass of written work, document, and rule; manifestation of statutory law
- **Copyright Status:** As a statute, it is in the public domain in the United States and France under the edict of government doctrine
- **Dewey Decimal Classification:** 342.057 and 348.02
- **Global Authority Control:** Library of Congress Authority ID sh85127611, GND ID 4020660-9

## FAQs
**What does Law No. 2847 of August 18, 1956 actually do?**
The law provides a complete exemption from import duties and customs fees for foreign materials and merchandise imported by the State of Paraíba, specifically benefiting the municipal prefecture of Campina Grande.

**Who signed this law into effect and when?**
President Juscelino Kubitschek promulgated the law on August 18, 1956, during his first year in office as part of his developmentalist agenda for Brazil.

**Which specific region of Brazil benefits from this tax exemption?**
The exemption exclusively benefits the State of Paraíba in northeastern Brazil, with explicit mention of Campina Grande, one of the state's largest cities and its primary economic center after the capital.

**What type of legal instrument is this law?**
It is classified as a statute, which is a formal written document that creates law and serves as the concrete manifestation of statutory law within Brazil's federal legal system.

**Where can I access the original text of this legislation?**
The full text is digitally preserved and accessible through the official Planalto government website at https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l2847.htm and cataloged in the LexML system with identifier urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1956-08-18;2847.

**Why was this law published in Rio de Janeiro instead of Brasília?**
The law was published in Rio de Janeiro because Brasília had not yet become the capital in 1956; the federal government remained in Rio de Janeiro until the new capital's inauguration in 1960.

## Why It Matters
Law No. 2847 of August 18, 1956 represents a targeted fiscal policy tool used by the Kubitschek administration to support regional development in Brazil's northeastern region, historically disadvantaged compared to the industrialized south. By granting import duty exemptions specifically to the State of Paraíba, the federal government enabled the state and its municipalities like Campina Grande to acquire foreign materials and equipment more cheaply, likely supporting infrastructure projects, public works, or administrative modernization efforts during a period of rapid national transformation. The law exemplifies Brazil's federalist approach to economic development, where the central government uses legislative instruments to direct resources to specific states. Its preservation in the LexML digital system and inclusion in WikiProject Brazilian Laws demonstrates Brazil's commitment to maintaining accessible historical legislative records, ensuring that researchers and citizens can trace the legal foundations of regional development policies. As a statute enacted during the developmentalist period that would later produce Brasília and major industrial growth, this law provides insight into the granular, state-level mechanisms Kubitschek employed to balance national progress with regional equity.

## Notable For
- **Single-State Targeting:** Unlike national tax policies, this law exclusively benefits one state (Paraíba), making it a highly specific regional development instrument
- **Municipal Specificity:** Explicitly names Campina Grande's municipal prefecture as a beneficiary, demonstrating micro-targeted legislative precision
- **Kubitschek Era Enactment:** Part of the first year legislative output of President Juscelino Kubitschek, whose presidency (1956-1961) became synonymous with Brazil's "50 years in 5" development campaign
- **Capital Transition Period:** Published in Rio de Janeiro just four years before the capital moved to Brasília, marking it as a late-Rio-era federal law
- **Digital Preservation:** Cataloged in Brazil's LexML URN system with a permanent identifier, ensuring long-term digital accessibility
- **Wikimedia Documentation:** Specifically tracked by WikiProject Brazilian Laws, indicating its recognition as a significant legislative artifact worth preserving in open knowledge projects
- **Complete Tax Exemption:** Grants "isenção" (exemption) rather than reduction or deferral, representing a full waiver of fiscal obligations
- **Dual Tax Coverage:** Addresses both import duties and customs fees (taxas aduaneiras) simultaneously, providing comprehensive import cost relief

## Body

### Legal Identity and Classification
Law No. 2847 of August 18, 1956 is formally classified as a statute within Brazil's federal legislative framework. As a statute, it represents a formal written document that creates law and functions as a manifestation of statutory law. The law holds the taxonomic classification of being both a legal term/concept and a subclass of written work, document, and rule. Its creation follows draft laws and is caused by the legislative act of promulgation by the executive branch. The resulting legal norms contained within the statute become part of Brazil's broader statutory law system. The law is composed in Brazilian Portuguese and carries the official citation format "Lei nº 2847/1956" for legal referencing purposes.

### Content and Scope
The law's digest explicitly states its purpose: "CONCEDE ISENÇÃO DE DIREITOS DE IMPORTAÇÃO E TAXAS ADUANEIRAS PARA MATERIAL IMPORTADO PELO ESTADO DA PARAIBA" (Grants exemption from import duties and customs fees for material imported by the State of Paraíba). The legislation covers multiple categories of import-related taxes including the import tax (Imposto De Importação) and customs tariff (Taxa Aduaneira). The scope extends to foreign merchandise (Mercadoria Estrangeira) imported by state government entities. The primary beneficiaries are the State of Paraíba itself and specifically the municipal prefecture (Prefeitura Municipal) of Campina Grande, Paraíba's second-largest city and a major industrial and educational hub in the northeastern region.

### Historical and Political Context
The law was enacted on August 18, 1956, during the first year of President Juscelino Kubitschek's administration. This period marked the beginning of Kubitschek's ambitious developmentalist program that would later include the construction of Brasília and rapid industrialization. The promulgation occurred in Rio de Janeiro, which served as Brazil's capital until 1960 when the government completed its relocation to the newly built Brasília. The law reflects the federal government's strategy of using targeted fiscal incentives to promote development in Brazil's northeastern states, which historically lagged behind the southeastern industrial core. Paraíba, located in the northeastern region, benefited from this regional development approach that characterized much of Kubitschek's presidency.

### Geographic and Jurisdictional Application
While the law applies to the entire Brazilian jurisdiction as a federal statute, its benefits are exclusively concentrated in the State of Paraíba. The legislation specifically references Campina Grande, a city that had become increasingly important due to its industrial development and educational institutions. The law's application demonstrates how federal legislation could be narrowly tailored to support specific subnational governments. Brazil's federal structure, comprising 26 states plus one Federal District, allows for such state-specific legislative interventions. The law's provisions would be administered through Brazil's customs and import control systems, which operate at the federal level but can grant exemptions for designated recipients.

### Digital Preservation and Access
The law is digitally preserved through multiple Brazilian government systems. It is assigned the LexML Brazil identifier urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1956-08-18;2847, which provides a permanent, standardized Uniform Resource Name for legal citation and retrieval. The full text is publicly accessible at the official Planalto government website URL: https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l2847.htm. This digital availability ensures that the law remains accessible to researchers, legal professionals, and citizens. The law is also documented within Wikimedia projects through WikiProject Brazilian Laws, which focuses on cataloging and improving articles related to Brazilian legislation. This dual preservation in both government and open-knowledge platforms ensures long-term accessibility.

### Related Legal Framework and Classification
As a statute, Law No. 2847 is part of Brazil's statutory law system and is equivalent to the schema.org/Legislation class used in structured web data. The law is cataloged in major library classification systems under Dewey Decimal numbers 342.057 and 348.02. It holds authority control identifiers including Library of Congress Authority ID sh85127611 and GND ID 4020660-9. As an official legal document, the law is in the public domain in both the United States and France under the edict of government doctrine, which establishes that official legal texts are not copyrightable. The law's main subjects are formally classified in knowledge systems as tariff, Paraíba, Campina Grande, import tax, municipal prefecture, recruitment (with import qualifier), and tax exemption, providing multiple access points for legal research and semantic querying.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1956-08-18;2847)
2. [Source](https://legislacao.presidencia.gov.br/atos?tipo=LEI&numero=2847&ano=1956&data=18/08/1956&ato=8bdUzYq50dNRVT0d4)
3. LexML Brasil