TJMT reinstates collection of financial CPRs

The 3rd Chamber of Private Law of the Court of Justice of Mato Grosso (TJMT) reinstated the enforceability of two Financial Rural Product Certificates (CPR-F) issued by a rural producer. The panel also authorized the financial institution to adopt collection measures stipulated in the contracts. The decision is provisional and does not anticipate the final judgment of the case.

The judges unanimously granted the appeal filed by the bank. The ruling was made in an internal appeal related to a preliminary injunction. The first-instance proceedings are taking place in Canarana.

Suspension of charges

The lower court had suspended the collection of two CPR-F (Rural Product Certificates). The injunction also prevented collection actions and the inclusion of the producer's name in credit restriction databases.

The producer cited difficulties in agricultural activity and defended the right to extend the payment of obligations. To support the request, he presented agronomic reports, accounting documents, sales invoices, extrajudicial notifications, and studies on the reduction in the price of soybeans in the 2024/25 harvest.

The financial institution appealed. The bank stated that it used its own free resources in the transactions. It also argued for the application of Law 8.929/1994, the regulation governing Rural Product Certificates. According to the institution, the transactions are not part of official rural credit and do not automatically follow the extension rules stipulated in the Rural Credit Manual.

Second-degree analysis

In court, the judge deemed the evidence presented insufficient to maintain the preliminary injunction. According to the ruling, the analysis at this procedural stage should be limited to the requirements set forth in Article 300 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The definitive examination of the right to the extension will occur during the course of the main proceedings.

The judge highlighted the existence of a specific legal framework for financial CPRs (Rural Product Certificates). Law 8.929/1994 regulates these securities as private financing instruments for agribusiness. This nature differs from operations linked to the National Rural Credit System.

According to the rapporteur, the use of unrestricted funds, in principle, precludes the automatic application of the rules of the Rural Credit Manual intended for operations with controlled funds. The allocation of money to agricultural activity, in isolation, does not alter the legal regime of the contract.

The ruling also analyzed Precedent 298 of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ). This precedent recognizes the extension of rural debt as a right of the debtor, according to applicable legislation. However, the TJMT (Court of Justice of Mato Grosso) considered the need to prove compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. Thus, the right does not arise solely from the existence of production difficulties.

Administrative request

The Chamber also raised doubts about the date of the administrative request for extension. The bank stated that it only received the request after the obligations had expired. The producer presented a contrary position. The determination regarding timeliness will depend on the production of evidence during the course of the process.

According to the panel, the jurisprudence of the TJMT (Court of Justice of Mato Grosso) requires a timely administrative request and demonstration of the conditions stipulated in the Rural Credit Manual for the preliminary suspension of rural debts. The presence of these requirements was not proven at this stage.

The technical documents presented by the producer allow the action to proceed, according to the ruling. However, in a preliminary analysis, they do not demonstrate sufficient probability of the alleged right. The judgment also cites the particular and unilateral nature of some of the evidence submitted.

With the appeal being granted, the two financial CPRs (Certificates of Receivables) will once again produce their effects. The institution may resume collection and use the applicable contractual measures. The decision remains valid until a new judicial ruling or until the merits of the dispute are judged.