A survey conducted by the MaisMei app, which assists individual micro-entrepreneurs (MEI) with management tasks, showed that 9.41% of CNPJs under this tax regime are in active debt. The average amount of debts owed by MEIs to the Union is R$ 2,574.00, also according to the data analyzed from the CNPJs registered in MaisMei, which currently has 2.6 million users.
Kályta Caetano, head of Accounting at MaisMei, explains that when an individual or legal entity is in debt with a public agency, whether at the Municipal, State, or Federal level, this pending issue can be registered as an active debt after the administrative collection period. In these cases, it is necessary for the MEI to regularize the situation as soon as possible so that the debt does not increase and, ultimately, the entrepreneur loses their benefits.
In addition to late payment interest, this registration results in other penalties for the debtor, including legal collection. It is important to dispel the myth that, after five years, a debt "expires." What happens is that, after this period, the debt does not disappear, but the creditor loses the right to pursue legal action. However, it is not mandatory to automatically remove the debtor's name from credit protection agencies after 5 years.In other words, your company will continue to owe and, to avoid all the problems caused by the debt, it is better to make an agreement to settle it," explains Kályta Caetano.
Although in most cases these are not debts that are impossible to pay, as the average shows, MaisMei identified, in its internal survey, debts that exceed R$50 thousand.
MEIs in debt with the Union may also have the debit registered in the Active Debt of the municipality or state, depending on the category of the business. Among the penalties are:
- Cancellation of the CNPJ, which makes it impossible to issue invoices, carry out commercial operations, operate the company's bank accounts, obtain loans and participate in tenders.
- Debt linked to the microentrepreneur's CPF, with a 20% increase due to charges;
- Losing social security benefits such as retirement, maternity pay, temporary disability benefit (formerly sickness benefit), among others.
Regularization
When the MEI has its debts registered in the Union's Active Debt, a legal notification is sent to the address registered in the Federal Revenue system, which can be by physical mail (Post) or electronic means (Electronic Tax Domicile – DTE).But for those who want to check if they have a debt or not and understand the modalities and conditions for settlement, simply access the Regularize portal (https://www.regularize.pgfn.gov.br/home) or the Open Debt application, both from the Federal Government.
Another free tool that can also be used is "MEI Diagnosis," launched by MaisMei. With this feature, the entrepreneur has access to all actual pending issues related to the CNPJ, if any. The company also provides legal and accounting advisors to answer questions from individual micro-entrepreneurs and assist in the regularization process
