A Cédula de Crédito Rural (CCR) is a rural credit bill provided by the agencies that integrate the National Rural Credit System, and is a promise to pay in cash, with or without collateral.
The CCR is regulated by Decree-Law 167/67, that also establishes the Central Bank of Brazil as the party in charge for consenting, supervising, and determining the conditions for the exercise of its bookkeeping.
It has the following categories:
-Cédula Rural Pignoratícia, which includes rural pledge;
-Rural Mortgage Notes, that include mortgages on real estate;
-Rural Pledging and Mortgaging Rural Credit Notes, that include rural pledge and mortgage; and
-Rural Credit Note, which does not include any type of guarantee.
As can be seen, the distinction between these types, as suggested by the nomenclature, derives from the nature of the real guarantee given.
The requirements for such Cédulas, as shown in the Decree, are:
1)date and conditions of payment;
2) name of the creditor and the demand clause;
3) the value of the credit granted, in figures and in full, with an indication of the rural purpose for which the financing is granted and how it is to be used;
3) description of the pledged goods, which will be indicated by type, quality, quantity, brand, or production period, if this is the case, in addition to the location or warehouse where the goods are located, or in the case of real estate, the description of the mortgaged property with an indication of the name, if any, dimensions, confrontations, improvements, title and date of acquisition, and real estate registry annotations (number, book and page);
4) rate of interest to be paid, and the inspection commission, if any, and the time of its payment;
5) place of payment
6) date and place of issue; and
7) signature of the issuer or representative with special powers.
The main difference between CCR and CPR is the time at which the bills are issued. While CPR is a promise of future delivery of agricultural goods, CCR is a rural financing security used by the members of the National Rural Credit System, resembling a traditional loan: the lender releases the money to the issuer and the latter promises to pay the agreed amount upon maturity.
Another significant difference is the fact that CCR is part of the National Rural Credit System and, therefore, counts on the Federal Government’s subsidy to grant credit under more favorable conditions to the rural producer, with the aim of fostering Brazilian agribusiness.
This means that the rates and interest applicable to CCR must follow the parameters defined by the National Monetary Council (CMN), according to the government plan implemented.
The STJ recently handed down a decision to the effect that, in the event of a CMN omission in the setting of interest and rates applicable to this security, financial institutions must respect the limitation of 12% per year, as provided for in the Usury Law (Dec. 22.626/33).
In times of a Selic rate above two digits, this is good news for the rural producer.
In any case, one must be cautious, since this was not a unanimous decision and is still quite controversial in the legal environment, due to the debate involving the possibility to apply the Usury Law.
After all, is the Usury Law valid or not for banking agreements? Should CCR be considered a banking contract? Furthermore, does this decision go against the guidelines of the law of economic freedom?
