[The recent Provisional Measure (MP 1.104/2022) delimited the electronic signature rules for the issuance of the Rural Product Note (CPR) and its guarantees. Granting greater freedom, the new legislation establishes the requirements and formalities regarding the certification necessary for the electronic signature to have legal validity. Long before that, Law No. 8,929 of 1994, which regulates the Cédula de Produto Rural, already allowed the possibility of electronic signature for the issuance of CPRs. However, the law still lacked a secure definition for the agribusiness asset market to use with confidence.
As of the publication of the new MP, objective standards for the issuance of CPRs by means of electronic signature are now in place. In line with current certification standards, the form and level of electronic signature allowed to ensure the validity, effectiveness and enforceability of the agribusiness title have been defined. For the issuance of CPRs, the use of a simple, advanced or qualified electronic signature will be allowed. On the other hand, for the registration and recording of collateral constituted by movable and immovable property, only the use of advanced or qualified electronic signature will be allowed.
The regulation meets the needs of the market as it will catalyze the issuance of CPR given the legal certainty of electronic signatures and their facilities. The regulation promises to put an end to questioning by notaries, making electronically signed CPRs even more attractive to the agribusiness market. In addition, the MP increased the scope of the Solidarity Guarantee Fund (FGS). The amendment allows any financial transaction – including those carried out in the capital markets – linked to rural business activity to be guaranteed by means of a GSF. Previously, the guarantee of the GSF was limited only to credit operations carried out exclusively by rural producers.
The composition of guarantee funds has also been extended. Previously, debtors, creditors and guarantors were required to contribute minimum percentages of the outstanding balance in financial transactions guaranteed by the GSF. With the changes, the participation of creditors in the formation of FGS becomes dispensable. There are quotas for debtors and guarantors only. There is also no longer a requirement for minimum percentages of participation in the outstanding balance. It will be up to the Fund’s own bylaws to define the form of constitution and administration and asset management of the fund.
In view of the new legal instrument that may provide new opportunities for producers and investors, we make ourselves available for any clarifications, especially regarding the legal solutions to be implemented when issuing CPR by means of electronic signature and regarding the new perspectives of FGS management, aiming at mitigating risks in business negotiations.[:].
