The issue is that MEI comes with some obligations and limitations, including revenue limitations, which will certainly hinder e-commerce businesses that are finding success in sales.
Today’s topic is taxation. Let’s better understand the Simples Nacional tax regimes to understand where e-commerce can fit in, and give greater emphasis to everything that involves MEI e-commerce.
Shall we begin? But first, a little tutorial:
How to Open a MEI in 2025?
Opening a MEI in 2025 is probably one of the easiest tasks in all of Brazilian bureaucracy. The entire process is digitized, documentation is reduced, and you will rarely need the support of accountants to do this work.
By the way, a word of warning: opening a MEI is free in Brazil. There’s only a monthly fee, but opening is free.
It’s important to mention this point because it’s very common to fall for email chains from accounting firms asking you for a fee to open a MEI.
In these cases, it is important to understand that you would be paying the accounting firm’s fee, not a fee to open the MEI.
In any case, here’s a simple tutorial below to help you understand what you need to do to open a MEI today.
And then, we’ll talk about MEI e-commerce, country email list its advantages and disadvantages.
Just a spoiler: although it is possible to open an MEI e-commerce, if you have plans to expand your operations and sell a lot, this is not the best path.
But let’s go to the tutorial:
Check if you meet the requirements to be a MEI
Before beginning the formalization process, make sure you meet the established criteria to become an MEI.
- CNAE (National Economic and Social Development Code) Determination : Check which CNAE your online store falls under. Click this link and scroll down to letter C in the index. Merchant activities begin with CNAE 4789-0/05 and go up to 4743-1/00;
- Billing limit : annual billing must be up to R$81,000. There was a vote in 2024 to increase the limit to R$141,000, but it was not approved;
- Number of employees : You are permitted to hire a maximum of one employee who earns the minimum wage or the minimum wage for their category. This employee must be employed by your company;
- Participation in other companies : It is not permitted to be the owner, partner or administrator of another company.
These are the general rules for opening a MEI. See how they are quite democratic — the only real limit is the classification in a CNAE.
There are some products that cannot be sold by an MEI e-commerce, such as fireworks, human medicines, veterinary medicines, etc.
Generally, products that are banned from MEI e-commerce are those that require additional regulation from other agencies. In this case, it is necessary to be at least a micro-enterprise.
Gather the Necessary Documents
To formalize yourself as an MEI, you will need some very simple documents to collect.
You can consult the complete list directly on the Entrepreneur Portal by clicking on this link.
Remember: all documents required to open a MEI are sent online, within the Entrepreneur Portal system. It is not necessary to hire accountants or brokers.
It is always good to repeat this because this is one of the most predatory activities of accounting offices: charging to “organize” the opening of the MEI.
This organization is not necessary, as you will only need the most basic documents possible to open a MEI e-commerce.
Follow:
- Personal data : CPF number, date of birth, ID, residential address and telephone number;
- Business data : type of occupation (e-commerce), form of operation and business address;
- gov.br account : you must have a gov.br account with Silver or Gold security level. By registering your facial biometrics in the system, even via your cell phone, you can get a Silver security level account;
Access the Entrepreneur Portal and Register
Now you will register on the Entrepreneur Portal. With everything you have done so far, you will basically only need to fill out a form.
This process is so easy that, there are several types of powers of attorney if you didn’t have a Gov.br account before, the process of creating one is even more difficult than opening a MEI. Seriously.
There are 4 simple steps:
- Access the Entrepreneur Portal;
- Log in with your gov.br account;
- Review all information and complete registration;
- Fill out the registration form with your personal details and business information.
Upon completion, the Individual Microentrepreneur Status Certificate (CCMEI) will be automatically generated, which proves formalization and contains your CNPJ number.
Regularize Tax and Fiscal Obligations
All right, your MEI is now open and you can now issue NFs, both physical and electronic, and create digital signatures with your CNPJ, if this is necessary to issue an invoice in your municipality.
By the way, it’s important to mention this point: after you open your MEI, you’re ready to sell normally.
However, to issue Invoices, you will need to register with your city’s city hall and understand the rules for issuing them.
It is also important to understand that the issuance of each NF is linked to the chosen CNAEs. Each CNAE has a different taxation in each city hall for the issuance of Tax Invoices.
However, the payment you’ll need to make every month is the DAS. And every year, you’ll find more information below:
- Monthly DAS Payment : The Simples Nacional Collection Document (DAS) includes taxes such as INSS, ICMS, and ISS. In 2025, the amounts are :
- Commerce and Industry : R$ 76.00
- Services : R$ 81.00
- Trade and Services : R$ 82.00
- Annual Income Statement (DASN-SIMEI) : Must be submitted by May 31st of each year, stating the income from the previous year.
More information about MEI obligations is available on the Entrepreneur Portal.
Issue Invoices and Organize your Accounting
MEI is exempt from issuing invoices to phone database end consumers (individuals), but it is mandatory to issue invoices when selling to legal entities (companies).
This is a very common question among MEIs in general. The mandatory issuance of the NF in businesses in general does not apply to individual microentrepreneurs, only in the case of B2B commerce.
Additionally, it is recommended to maintain organized financial control, recording all business income and expenses.