Radical Change in Company Opening: The Tax Regime Now Comes BEFORE the CNPJ!

Did you know that the company opening process in Brazil has undergone a significant transformation? Technical Note 181/2025 brought a radical change to the logic of starting a business, requiring the tax regime to be defined even before the CNPJ number is issued. Understand how it used to be and how it works now with REDESIM’s new AT Module.

How It Used to Be

In the traditional process, a company was opened in stages, and the choice of the tax regime came at the end. The flow was as follows:

1. Drafting the Articles of Incorporation or Entrepreneur’s Application.
2. Registration with the Board of Commerce or Notary Office.
3. Obtaining the CNPJ number from the Federal Revenue Service.
4. Municipal and/or State Registration.
5. Only after this, the company had up to 30 days from the last registration (limited to 60 days from CNPJ issuance) to choose the tax regime, such as Simples Nacional.

This model allowed the business owner to reflect calmly, with accounting guidance, on the most advantageous tax regime, with the business already partially structured.

How It Will Be Now with REDESIM’s AT Module

But now the game has changed! According to the Federal Revenue Service, the new process follows a more automated and standardized logic. Here’s how the flow will work with REDESIM’s AT Module:

1. Drafting the incorporation document (Articles or Application).
2. Submission of the request directly through the AT Module, which already integrates the CNPJ application and registrations with other agencies.
3. The selected tax regime must be declared MANDATORY at this stage.
4. Only after the regime is defined will the system release the CNPJ number.

In other words: without choosing the tax regime, there’s no CNPJ.

Practical Impacts on Day-to-Day Activities and What This Means for You

This change brings significant practical impacts:

• Previously, the accountant had more time to analyze the structure and projected results to suggest the best tax regime.
• Now, the decision must be made at the very beginning of the process, which requires:
  • A prior tax diagnosis.
  • Faster strategic definition.
  • Greater system integration and agility in data submission.

The accountant’s technical work is now required during the planning stage of incorporation, rather than after obtaining the CNPJ. It’s important to remember that changing the tax regime can only be done once per year.

So, if you’re thinking about starting a new business, the key word is planning! Have all your business projections ready to make the right choice. Count on our firm for this tax study and company formation assistance.