📘 Screen: CST - ICMS, PIS, COFINS, IPI
The CST (Código de Situação Tributária, the Brazilian tax status code) is the code that states, for each tax, how that item is taxed: whether it pays in full, has a reduced base, is exempt, or is under tax substitution. This screen is the list of CSTs the farm uses, split by tax — ICMS, PIS, COFINS and IPI — with the rate each one usually applies.
It is a record dictated by the farm's accountant: they say which codes go in and at what rate, and here you just register them so issuing the invoice no longer depends on case-by-case lookups.
📍 Location in the system
Menu: Basic > CST - ICMS, PIS, COFINS, IPI
🧩 Main function
Keep, per tax, the list of CSTs available in the tax block of each item in NF-e Transmission and Inventory Movement, with the default rate and base reduction already filled in.
The tax block does not appear in an Inventory Movement of the Inbound with invoice type: there the taxes come from the supplier's invoice XML, and there is nothing to choose.
🔀 The ICMS / PIS / COFINS / IPI filter
Above the list there is a selector with the four taxes. It does two things at once, and it is the most important detail on the screen:
- It filters the list, showing only the CSTs for that tax
- It sets the tax of what you are saving — a new CST is tied to the tax that is selected at that moment
In other words: before clicking New, choose the tax first. Registering a PIS CST with the selector on "ICMS" makes the code show up in the wrong tab when you issue the invoice.
📝 Main fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Code | The official tax status code — 00, 20,
40, 60 for ICMS; 01, 07, 49
for PIS and COFINS. |
| Name/Description | Required. What the code means: "Fully taxed", "With reduced tax base", "Exempt", "ICMS charged by tax substitution". |
| Default rate | The percentage that CST usually applies (e.g. 12, 17, 1.65). It comes pre-filled on the invoice item and can be adjusted there. If you leave it at zero, nothing is filled in — the item field stays as it was. |
| % BC reduction | Percentage reduction of the tax base (BC), used for reduced-taxation CSTs. The same rule applies: at zero, nothing is filled in. |
| ICMS BC method | How the ICMS tax base is determined. Four
options: 0-Value Added Margin (%), 1-Reference price list (value),
2-Max. listed price (value) and 3-Operation value — the last one is the
most common. |
| Active | Uncheck it to remove the CST from the lists without affecting the invoices that already used it. |
The list shows Code, Description, Default rate and Active, with search on each column.
🧾 Where the CST is chosen
On the invoice item: each tax has its own block — ICMS, PIS, COFINS and IPI —, and each one has the CST for that tax next to the tax base, the percentage and the amount. Each block only offers the CSTs registered under that tax that are active.
Choosing the CST fills in the rest: the default rate goes to the item's percentage, the base reduction to the reduction field and, for ICMS, the BC method is carried along too. All of this is a starting point — it can be adjusted on that item without changing the record.
- Whoever issues the invoice picks from a short list, already with the right rate
- Base reduction and BC method no longer have to be typed item by item
- The same operation is taxed the same way on every invoice
❓ Frequently asked questions
I registered a CST and it doesn't show up when I issue the invoice. What happened?
It was probably saved under the wrong tax. The ICMS / PIS / COFINS / IPI selector above the list sets which tax the CST belongs to at the moment you save. Go back to the screen, choose the correct tax and check whether the code appears in its list.
Which CST should I use for each product?
The farm's accountant decides, because it depends on the product, the destination and the farm's tax regime. The system does not suggest a code: it stores the list the accountant gave you and offers it when issuing.
Is the rate registered here fixed?
No. It comes pre-filled on the invoice item to save typing, but it can be changed on that item without changing the record. Use the record for the common case and adjust exceptions on the invoice.