MEIs need to be aware of the new rules

One of the most awaited changes by the category of individual micro-entrepreneurs (MEIs) is the increase in the billing limit, which can go from the current R$ 81 thousand per year to R$ 144.9 thousand. The expectation is in the Complementary Law Project (PLP 108/2021), which is being processed in Congress and updates the billing ceiling for MEIs and Simples Nacional companies. However, there is still no prediction of approval of the text.

Already approved in the Senate, the PLP provides for the possibility for entrepreneurs to carry out two contracts under the CLT regime. The text also establishes that, in the case of a newly opened company, the limit for classification will be R$ 10,833.33, multiplied by the number of months between the beginning of the activity and the end of the respective calendar year.

“Our proposal helps the person who is already framed as MEI and envisions the possibility of expanding their economic activity, as well as enabling a greater number of people to adhere to a model that clearly benefits the Brazilian economy”, defended Senator Jayme Campos ( DEM-MT), author of the project, at the time the text was presented.

In the view of Cristiani Fonseca, counselor of the Regional Accounting Council of Rio Grande do Sul (CRC-RS), the proposal corrects values ​​already outdated for the category. “The increase in the annual billing limit is extremely important for the small entrepreneur, as many are already being out of step with the current outdated limit, just as the possibility of hiring two employees reduces informality”, stresses the accountant.

She pays attention to the fact that the hiring of employees should only be under the CLT regime, as it will allow the employee to enjoy labor social benefits: FGTS withdrawal, Unemployment Insurance installments and others.

PLP 108/2021 is the main demand of micro and small individual entrepreneurs, says Giulia Mattos, specialist in MEI at Sebrae RS. The accountant explains that, with the strong growth of CNPJs MEIs during the pandemic, the Federal Government saw the need to maintain the program, while responding to some requests from entrepreneurs.

“Even so, the increase in revenues of R$ 144.9 thousand a year does not meet all inflationary correction”, adds Giulia.

With the increase in the earnings ceiling, the possibility of two hires and the new readjustment in the contribution of MEIs, the Federal Government has also been making moves to attack defaults, which rose considerably during the Covid-19 pandemic. In Rio Grande do Sul, for example, of every 10 individual micro-entrepreneurs, six were in default with the Federal Revenue Service in 2021.

From 2021 onwards, the government intensified charges and penalties in the face of default, such as enrollment in active debt of the Union, the unsuitability of CNPJs, which did not happen before.

“These are parallel movements: while the government is considering an increase in revenues, it is also analyzing how to curb default”, explains the Sebrae-RS specialist.

PLP 108/2021 must still be analyzed by the Economic Development, Industry, Commerce and Services commissions; Finance and Taxation; and Constitution and Justice and Citizenship (CCJ). It will then go to the House Plenary. If approved without changes in the text, it goes to presidential sanction.

Another important change for individual micro-entrepreneurs, but which is not yet in effect, is the incorporation of the Electronic Tax Domicile (DTE) communication environment into the MEI application. In the current model, when the entrepreneur formalizes his business, he automatically has access to the DTE platform, which is the official communication channel of Simples Nacional, between the Federal Revenue and entrepreneurs.

For this year, the environment is scheduled to be incorporated into the MEI app, centralizing all information and notifications in one place. In practice, the DTE allows the taxpayer to consult the electronic communications sent by the Federal Revenue Service, states, municipalities and the Federal District, generating data and information security, since notices and subpoenas occur electronically.

According to Sebrae-RS MEI specialist Giulia Mattos, incorporation is a gain, especially in times of virtual scams. This is because more and more criminals have been using the identity of the Federal Revenue and Simples Nacional to apply blows through calls, text messages, and even by mail.

“So, when the DTE is incorporated into the MEI app, the Revenue becomes more capable of guiding the individual micro-entrepreneur about the only way of communicating with the agency. And everything that doesn’t go that way has to be suspect “, he explains.

The lack of follow-up by the MEI to the DTE is also one of the reasons for this incorporation. As the CRCRS counselor, Cristiani Fonseca, explains, it is through this channel that important notifications are made to the entrepreneur and, for this reason, regular access is very important.

The alerts and warnings from the DTE are very varied: they can be advantages, such as a special installment model, with a limited adherence period, or it can also be a collection of overdue obligations, which can lead to the ineligibility of the CNPJ.

“At Sebrae RS we receive daily contacts from MEIs who are caught by surprise for not regularly reading the DTE” says Giulia.

Sanctioned in 2022, Complementary Law No. 188 created the “MEI Caminhoneiro”, a resolution that allows self-employed cargo transporters to register as individual micro-entrepreneurs, and earn up to BRL 251,600 per year. Last year, however, was a test year for the system.

In January of this year, professionals were able to switch from the conventional MEI to the MEI Caminhoneiro, on an optional basis, directly on the MEI Portal. This is another one of the changes in force in 2023 for individual microentrepreneurs.

The option is valid for municipal, intercity and interstate carriers, as well as those that cross Brazilian borders. Cargo transportation was already included in the activities allowed by the MEI, but with annual revenues of R$ 81 thousand. The amendment makes it possible to increase the formalization of these workers in the cargo transport sector.

“The MEI Caminhoneiro is an achievement for the class, which was already self-employed. The main benefit is the registration and regularization of these professionals”, says Giulia Mattos, specialist in MEI at Sebrae RS.

In order to qualify as a self-employed freight forwarder, the professional must observe the following conditions: earn up to R$ 251,600 in annual revenue (this amount being proportional in the opening year) and pay the INSS 12%; not having another CNPJ as holder, partner or manager of another company; not having or opening a branch and hiring a maximum of one employee, who receives the minimum wage for the category.
In view of the readjustment of the monthly contribution, MEI Caminhoneiro will pay R$ 158.40, 12% of the minimum wage in social security contributions. With taxes, the monthly amount varies between R$ 159.40 and R$ 164.40.