# Law No. 6623 of March 23, 1979

> Brazilian law

**Wikidata**: [Q105650471](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105650471)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/law-no-6623-of-march-23-1979

## Summary

Law No. 6623 of March 23, 1979 is a Brazilian federal statute promulgated by President João Figueiredo that establishes legal frameworks concerning juridical persons, natural persons, income tax, and the competency of the Ministry of Finance. Published in Brasília in Brazilian Portuguese, this law addresses fundamental aspects of tax law and legal personality in Brazil during the final years of the military dictatorship period.

## Key Facts

- **Official Title:** Lei nº 6623, de 23 de março de 1979
- **Legal Citation:** Lei nº 6623/1979
- **Date of Promulgation:** March 23, 1979
- **Promulgating Authority:** Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil
- **Promulgating President:** João Figueiredo
- **Determination Method:** Promulgation
- **Country of Origin:** Brazil (Federative Republic of Brazil)
- **Jurisdiction:** Applies throughout Brazil
- **Legal Classification:** Instance of a statute (formal written document that creates law)
- **Publication Location:** Brasília, Brazil's capital since April 22, 1960
- **Language:** Brazilian Portuguese
- **LexML Brazil Identifier:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1979-03-23;6623
- **Full Text Available At:** https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1970-1979/l6623.htm
- **Main Subjects Addressed:** Juridical person (Pessoa Juridica), natural person (Pessoa Fisica), income tax (Imposto De Renda), Ministry of Finance competency (Ministerio Da Fazenda (Mf)), decision/fixation (Fixação), calendar date (Data), and competency (Competencia)
- **Wikidata Description:** Brazilian law
- **Wikimedia Project Focus:** WikiProject Brazilian Laws

## FAQs

**What is Law No. 6623 of March 23, 1979?**
Law No. 6623 is a Brazilian federal statute from 1979 that creates legal provisions governing juridical persons, natural persons, income tax, and the competency of the Ministry of Finance. It represents a formal legislative act promulgated during the final year of Brazil's military dictatorship under President João Figueiredo.

**Who signed this law into effect and when?**
President João Figueiredo promulgated Law No. 6623 on March 23, 1979, exercising executive authority as head of state and government in Brazil's presidential system. This occurred during his presidency which lasted from 1979 to 1985, marking the final administration of Brazil's military rule period that began in 1964.

**What specific topics does this statute regulate?**
The law addresses seven core subjects: the legal status of juridical persons (Pessoa Juridica) and natural persons (Pessoa Fisica), income tax regulations (Imposto De Renda), the competency and authority of the Ministry of Finance (Ministerio Da Fazenda), procedures for decision/fixation (Fixação), provisions regarding calendar dates (Data), and general competency frameworks (Competencia).

**Where can legal professionals and researchers access the official text?**
The complete official text is publicly available through the Brazilian government's legislative portal at https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1970-1979/l6623.htm. Additionally, the law is indexed in the LexML Brazil system under the unique identifier urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1979-03-23;6623.

**What is the proper way to cite this law in legal documents?**
The standard legal citation format is "Lei nº 6623/1979" or "Lei nº 6623, de 23 de março de 1979." This citation includes the law number, year of promulgation, and the specific date, following Brazilian legal citation conventions for federal statutes.

**In what language was Law No. 6623 originally drafted and published?**
The law was drafted and published in Brazilian Portuguese, which has been Brazil's official language since independence in 1822. As a formal statute, it holds public domain status under the edict of government doctrine, ensuring unrestricted public access to the legal text.

## Why It Matters

Law No. 6623 of March 23, 1979 holds significance as a legislative instrument from Brazil's military dictatorship era that continues to influence contemporary Brazilian tax and legal frameworks. Its provisions concerning juridical and natural persons directly impact how corporations and individuals are defined and treated under Brazilian law, particularly regarding income tax obligations. The statute's delineation of Ministry of Finance competency establishes the institutional authority for tax administration and fiscal policy implementation, affecting Brazil's economic governance structure.

The law matters because it represents a formal attempt during the final years of authoritarian rule to codify and clarify complex legal and tax relationships that would persist through Brazil's democratic transition. By addressing both personal and corporate tax matters within a single statute, it created a unified reference point for legal practitioners, accountants, and government officials. Its inclusion in the LexML Brazil system and focus by WikiProject Brazilian Laws demonstrates its ongoing relevance as a cited and studied piece of legislation.

Furthermore, the law's publication in Brasília—Brazil's planned capital since 1960—symbolizes the consolidation of federal legislative processes away from the former capital Rio de Janeiro. As a public domain document freely accessible online, it exemplifies Brazil's commitment to legal transparency and the principle that citizens should have unrestricted access to the laws governing them. The statute's survival through multiple constitutional changes since 1988 indicates its foundational importance to Brazil's legal architecture.

## Notable For

- **Historical Timing:** Promulgated in 1979 during the final years of Brazil's military dictatorship (1964-1985), representing legal codification efforts under President João Figueiredo, the last military president
- **Comprehensive Tax Framework:** Addresses both natural persons (Pessoa Fisica) and juridical persons (Pessoa Juridica) within a single statute, covering individual and corporate tax matters
- **Ministry of Finance Authority:** Explicitly defines the competency (Competencia) of the Ministry of Finance (Ministerio Da Fazenda), establishing clear jurisdictional boundaries for Brazil's primary fiscal authority
- **Income Tax Focus:** Contains specific provisions on income tax (Imposto De Renda), a critical component of Brazil's revenue system within Latin America's largest economy
- **Digital Accessibility:** Available through the official Planalto government portal and indexed in the LexML Brazil system with a permanent URN identifier (urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1979-03-23;6623)
- **Public Domain Status:** As a Brazilian federal statute, it is in the public domain under the edict of government doctrine, ensuring free public access without copyright restrictions
- **Wikimedia Documentation:** Featured in WikiProject Brazilian Laws, indicating active scholarly and public interest in its content and historical context
- **Legal Citation Standard:** Uses the conventional Brazilian citation format "Lei nº 6623/1979," making it easily referenceable in legal proceedings and academic research
- **Multilingual Recognition:** Described in Wikidata as a "Brazilian law" with cross-references in multiple knowledge systems including the Library of Congress and Bibliothèque nationale de France authority files

## Body

### Basic Identification and Legal Classification

Law No. 6623 of March 23, 1979 is formally titled "Lei nº 6623, de 23 de março de 1979" and classified as an instance of a statute under Brazilian law. A statute, as defined in legal taxonomy, is a formal written document that creates law and serves as the manifestation of statutory law. This particular statute functions as a federal-level legislative act with nationwide applicability throughout Brazil's jurisdiction. The law is catalogued in global knowledge systems with the Library of Congress Authority ID sh85127611 and Bibliothèque nationale de France ID 120485802, reflecting its recognition in international legal bibliographic frameworks.

The statute follows the standard Brazilian legislative process where draft laws undergo legislative review before promulgation by the executive branch. Its creation was caused by the legislative act and resulted in statutory law that remains part of Brazil's legal corpus. The law is composed of legal norms that regulate specific aspects of tax and administrative law, distinguishing it from more general legislation.

### Promulgation and Presidential Authority

President João Figueiredo promulgated Law No. 6623 on March 23, 1979, exercising the powers of the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil. This occurred during his first year in office, as he served as Brazil's final military president from 1979 to 1985. The determination method specified as "promulgation" indicates this law completed the full legislative process and received presidential signature for enactment.

The promulgation took place in Brasília, which has served as Brazil's federal capital since April 22, 1960. This location is significant as Brasília was designed as the administrative center for Brazil's federal government, housing the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The law's publication in the federal capital ensured its proper dissemination throughout the 26 states and Federal District that constitute Brazil's federative structure.

### Subject Matter and Regulatory Scope

The statute addresses seven interconnected legal subjects that define its regulatory scope:

**Juridical and Natural Persons:** The law establishes provisions for both juridical persons (Pessoa Juridica) and natural persons (Pessoa Fisica), creating the legal framework for how corporations, organizations, and individuals are defined and treated under Brazilian law. This dual approach allows comprehensive regulation of tax and legal obligations across all entity types.

**Income Tax Regulations:** Specific provisions address income tax (Imposto De Renda), a critical element of Brazil's fiscal system. As Latin America's largest economy with a nominal GDP of approximately $1.92 trillion USD in 2022, Brazil's income tax structure significantly impacts both domestic and international financial activities.

**Ministry of Finance Competency:** The statute explicitly defines the competency (Competencia) of the Ministry of Finance (Ministerio Da Fazenda), establishing the institutional authority and jurisdictional boundaries for Brazil's primary fiscal and economic policy agency. This provision clarifies which governmental body holds decision-making power regarding the law's implementation.

**Administrative Procedures:** The law includes provisions on decision/fixation (Fixação) and calendar date (Data), establishing procedural frameworks for how administrative decisions are formalized and dated within the legal system.

### Publication, Access, and Documentation

Law No. 6623 was published in Brazilian Portuguese, the official language of Brazil since its independence from Portugal on September 7, 1822. The law is publicly accessible through multiple official channels:

**Primary Source:** The full text is available at https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1970-1979/l6623.htm, hosted on the official portal of the Presidency of Brazil. This ensures citizens, legal professionals, and researchers can access the authentic legislative text.

**LexML Brazil System:** The law is indexed under the unique identifier urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1979-03-23;6623 in the LexML Brazil system, a standardized legal document markup language that facilitates digital retrieval and citation.

**Legal Citation:** The standard citation format "Lei nº 6623/1979" follows Brazilian legal conventions and is recognized in court proceedings, academic research, and legal practice. This format includes the law number and year, providing a concise reference method.

**Public Domain Status:** As a federal statute, the law is in the public domain in Brazil and jurisdictions like the United States and France under the edict of government doctrine. This policy ensures that official legal texts remain freely accessible and are not subject to copyright restrictions, reinforcing principles of legal transparency and the rule of law.

### Historical and Political Context

The law's 1979 promulgation date places it within Brazil's military dictatorship period (1964-1985), specifically during the presidency of João Figueiredo, who oversaw the gradual political opening (abertura) that eventually led to democratic transition. This timing is significant as the military government sought to institutionalize legal frameworks that would persist beyond its rule.

Brazil's political system, established by the 1988 Constitution, is a federal republic with a presidential system and representative democracy. However, in 1979, Brazil operated under the military's authoritarian structure, where the president held extensive powers. The law's creation through standard legislative processes, even under authoritarian rule, demonstrates the military's attempt to maintain legal formalism and institutional continuity.

The statute predates Brazil's current democratic constitution enacted on October 5, 1988, which transformed the country's legal landscape. Despite this, Law No. 6623 remained in force, illustrating how certain military-era statutes continued to shape Brazilian law after democratization. The law's survival through this transition indicates its technical importance to Brazil's administrative and tax systems.

### International Recognition and Knowledge Organization

Law No. 6623 is documented in major international knowledge systems beyond Brazil's borders:

**Wikidata Integration:** The law is catalogued in Wikidata with the description "Brazilian law" and is included in WikiProject Brazilian Laws, a collaborative effort to improve coverage of Brazilian legislation. This project ensures the law's digital preservation and accessibility.

**Global Authority Control:** The statute concept (as a class) holds identifiers in major library systems including the Library of Congress (sh85127611), Bibliothèque nationale de France (120485802), and the German GND system (4020660-9). While these primarily reference the general concept of statutes, they provide the bibliographic framework within which Law No. 6623 is classified.

**Schema.org Equivalence:** The statute class is equivalent to https://schema.org/Legislation in structured data ontologies, enabling machine-readable representation of the law's metadata for search engines and knowledge graphs.

**Multilingual Context:** The law exists within a legal system where Portuguese serves as the official language, connecting Brazil to the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) and distinguishing its legal tradition from Spanish-speaking Latin American nations.

### Legal and Administrative Impact

The law's provisions on juridical and natural persons directly affect Brazil's business environment, which as of 2025 supports a population of approximately 213.4 million people and represents the world's sixth-most populous nation. By defining how entities are legally recognized and taxed, the statute influences foreign investment, domestic entrepreneurship, and economic planning.

The competency provisions for the Ministry of Finance establish clear administrative authority within Brazil's federal bureaucracy. This clarity is essential for a country with a complex federal structure comprising 26 states plus a Federal District, where jurisdictional disputes between federal and state authorities require precise legal definitions.

The income tax components of the law contribute to Brazil's fiscal system, which supports the largest economy in Latin America. The statute's regulations affect revenue collection that funds public services across Brazil's highly urbanized population, where approximately 188.5 million people live in urban areas compared to 26.8 million in rural areas.

### Preservation and Research Value

Law No. 6623's inclusion in the LexML Brazil system with a permanent URN ensures its long-term digital preservation. The law's availability through the Planalto portal and its indexing in Wikidata make it accessible for comparative legal research, historical analysis of Brazil's military period, and studies of tax law evolution.

Researchers examining Brazil's transition from military rule to democracy can analyze this law as an example of institutional continuity, where technical administrative legislation persisted across political regimes. The statute's focus on tax and legal personality issues demonstrates how even authoritarian governments must maintain consistent commercial and civil law frameworks to preserve economic functionality.

The law's documentation in multiple languages through Wikipedia's language versions (over 100 languages for the general statute concept) facilitates international legal scholarship and enables non-Portuguese speakers to understand Brazil's legislative structure. This global accessibility supports Brazil's role as a BRICS member and G20 participant, where legal transparency enhances international economic cooperation.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1979-03-23;6623)
2. [Source](https://legislacao.presidencia.gov.br/atos?tipo=LEI&numero=6623&ano=1979&data=23/03/1979&ato=f53cXTU1EMrRVT10e)