Mere pending registration does not bar inclusion in Simples Nacional

The existence of a mere registration pending, in itself, is not capable of ruling out the possibility of inclusion in Simples Nacional. Based on this understanding, judge Silvana Carvalho Soares, from the 5th Public Finance Court of João Pessoa, confirmed an injunction that authorized the inclusion of an electrical goods store in the tax regime, and suspended the causes of a restriction pointed out by the state government.

When the brand requested registration in the system, the Federal Revenue informed that there were irregularities that prevented it from being included in the 2022 taxation system. When contacted, the Paraíba Finance Department informed that the problem was related to the fact that the company had not written off a branch within the cut-off period (31 January 2022) to apply to join the scheme.

When filing the lawsuit, the store reported that it opened a branch in 2020, but, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it faced a serious financial crisis, which forced it to close its doors permanently. He claimed that the branch was closed and that he has no intention of reactivating it. Such restriction, according to the defense, would only be applicable if the store wanted to reactivate the branch to extend its inclusion in the regime.

Analyzing the request, the judge understood that the store did not carry out business activities during the period questioned by the state government, causing no loss to the treasury. For the judge, the mere irregularity is not capable of affecting any tax payment of the aggrieved party in the tax system in question, especially given the fact that the absence of any tax debt with the municipality that rejected the inclusion was effectively demonstrated.

“In this context, I understand that the mere registration irregularity is not reasonable for the purposes of refusing the inclusion of the petitioning company in the Simples Nacional tax collection system. The public entity rejected the inclusion of the company, due to a mere formal irregularity, whatever , the pending dismissal of a branch that has been closed for more than two years”, he said.

The judge concluded that the restriction highlighted by the government of Paraíba does not fall within the concept of irregularity in tax registration. The company was represented by the lawyer Vinícius Holanda de Vasconcelos.

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Process 0815967-06.2022.8.15.200