SPED (Sistema Público de Escrituração Digital — Public Digital Bookkeeping System) is the unified system of the Federal Revenue Service that organizes the digital bookkeeping of companies. Established by Decree 6,022/2007, it today comprises 12+ subsystems. The most relevant for mid-market and large companies are: SPED Fiscal (monthly), SPED Contribuições (monthly), ECD (annual), ECF (annual), EFD-Reinf (monthly). Late-filing penalties reach up to 3% of revenue.
SPED Fiscal (EFD ICMS-IPI)
Monthly bookkeeping of all operations subject to ICMS and IPI: inbound, outbound, calculation of debits and credits, adjustments. It replaces the physical tax ledgers.
Filing deadline
Monthly, by the 25th business day of the following month (varies by state).
Late-filing penalty
0.02% per day, capped at 1% of revenue (Law 12,766/2012). For a company with BRL 100M in revenue, the maximum penalty is BRL 1M.
Main content
- Tax documents issued and received
- Inventory of products
- Calculation of ICMS and IPI
- Operations under tax substitution
- Calculation adjustments
SPED Contribuições (EFD-Contribuições — Contributions Digital Bookkeeping)
Monthly bookkeeping of the PIS, COFINS contributions and the Social Security Contribution on Gross Revenue (CPRB). It details taxed, exempt, non-cumulative and cumulative revenues, the calculation base, and credits.
Deadline
Monthly, by the 10th business day of the second following month.
Critical for companies under Lucro Real (Actual Profit regime)
Companies under the non-cumulative PIS/COFINS regime have a high volume of information in the EFD-Contribuições — credits on inputs, fixed assets, freight, energy, etc. Errors generate disallowance of credits and litigation.
Phase-out in 2027
With CBS replacing PIS/COFINS in January 2027, the EFD-Contribuições should be partially replaced by the EFD-Reforma (under construction by the IBS/CBS Managing Committee).
ECD and ECF — annual bookkeeping
ECD (Escrituração Contábil Digital — Digital Accounting Bookkeeping)
It replaces the physical accounting ledgers: Journal, General Ledger, Trial Balances. Mandatory for all companies under Lucro Real (Actual Profit) and for those under Lucro Presumido (Deemed Profit) in certain situations.
Deadline: annual, by the last business day of June of the following year.
Late-filing penalty: 0.5% on the amount of tax reported, minimum BRL 1,500.
ECF (Escrituração Contábil Fiscal — Tax Accounting Bookkeeping)
It replaced the former DIPJ. It includes the calculation of IRPJ, CSLL, controls of tax loss carryforward and negative CSLL base, and, as of 2024, Transfer Pricing documentation (Local File, Master File, CbCR).
Deadline: annual, by the last business day of July of the following year.
Late-filing penalty: up to 3% of revenue.
Cross-checking between subsystems — where discrepancies appear
The Federal Revenue Service cross-checks data between SPED subsystems automatically. Discrepancies trigger audits. Critical cross-checks:
- Revenue in SPED Contribuições vs SPED Fiscal — a discrepancy indicates a classification error or omission
- Revenue in ECF vs ECD vs DIRF — the accounting-fiscal tripod must reconcile
- Payroll in eSocial vs EFD-Reinf vs DCTFWeb — any difference blocks the payment
- NF-e issued vs SPED Fiscal vs ICMS calculated — invoices that disappeared or were improperly cancelled
- Cash balance in ECD vs bank statements — a systematic discrepancy becomes grounds for a deeper audit
A quarterly preventive audit is recommended — it identifies inconsistencies before they turn into a penalty or an audit. The investment pays for itself quickly — a single penalty avoided covers years of control-software subscription.
References and official sources
Free SPED audit
An initial analysis of the company’s SPED files, identification of discrepancies between subsystems and an estimate of potential penalties. A preventive adequacy plan.
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