Brazilian CPOM: What Your Business Needs to Know

Whenever a company is hired to provide services for another company, it is essential to be very careful with all the necessary tax and legal procedures, for this reason, in this article, we will learn more about brazilian CPOM.

In this way, when the service provision agreement is signed between the two parties, it will be within the required parameters. Nothing better than doing this and avoiding future headaches with bureaucracy, right?

Therefore, before signing a contract, look for very detailed information about current laws, especially in the municipality and state of the contracting company. After all, each location can request different documentation and records as a form of legal and fiscal control. Proof of this is the CPOM (Registration of Providers from other Municipalities).

In today’s article, we’ll talk about what CPOM is, what role it plays, how it came about, which Brazilian cities request this documentation, what changes with the new decision of the STF (Supreme Federal Court) and the main advantages of this change .

Let’s start

ARTICLE: HOW TO CALCULATE THE PRESUMPTIVE PROFIT METHOD?

First of all: what is CPOM?

You should have already given a brief idea of ​​what Brazilian CPOM is in our introduction, right?

The Registry of Providers from other Municipalities (CPOM) is legislation that asks companies from other cities to open a prior registration to prove that they really have a relationship as a Legal Entity (PJ). After that, the partnership between the local business and that of another location is established without further complications.

However, registering the company in Brazilian CPOM is not mandatory. On the other hand, knowing that not including it in it can generate what we call double taxation in the Invoice. In other words, the Services Tax (ISS) will be charged in duplicate; one in the city where he lives and the other in the city where the contracting party is located.

The best way for this not to happen is to check, when negotiating a contract, whether the company that requested your services is or is not in a municipality suitable for this legislation. In addition, it is noteworthy that this registration may receive other names, such as CENE, RANFS, DSR, DANFS-E and DANFOM.

How did CPOM come about?

The CPOM (Registration of Providers from other Municipalities) was a form of taxation created in 2006 in the city of São Paulo under Municipal Law No. 14,042/05. The main reason for its emergence was the fight against tax evasion.

With it, if the service provider had an establishment in another city and was not registered with the CPOM, the company in São Paulo was held responsible for withholding and collecting the ISS (Service Tax).

This legislation was then replicated in several other locations. After all, having its own version of CPOM meant more support for city halls and fewer opportunities for entrepreneurs to circumvent local tax systems.

Some cities that use CPOM legislation

To guide you more clearly, we have prepared a list with some cities that adhere to this rule. Check out:

Nomenclature given to registration	City and State
CENE	Joinville (SC)
CENE	São Luís (MA)
CENE	Campinas (SP)
CENE	Sorocaba (SP)
CPOM	Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
CPOM	Recife (PE)
CPOM	Vila Velha (ES)
CPOM	Fortaleza (CE)
CPOM	Porto Alegre (RS)
DANFOM	Rio Grande (RS)
DANFS-E	Nova Friburgo (RJ)
DSR	Niterói (RJ)
RANFS	Itapetinga (BA)
RANFS	Aracaju (SE)
RANFS	Cerejeiras (RO)
RANFS	Uberaba (MG)

However, it is important to remember that, in March 2021, the Federal Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional this requirement to register a service provider in a local registry when it is from a different municipality from the one who contracted its services.

Next, we’ll talk about how this decision impacts business models and the key benefits behind it.

STF decision: how will the end of double taxation impact your company?

In the final judgment of appeal 1,167,509, the Federal Supreme Court (STF) ruled the existence of the CPOM (Registration of Providers from other Municipalities) in São Paulo as unconstitutional.

In other words, having to contribute to a second tax regime was considered totally meaningless and, mainly, in disagreement with the set of laws in the country. After all, the service provider company already pays the ISS (Service Tax) in the territory in which it lives. Therefore, there is no reason to justify double taxation in these cases.

In this sense, from the moment of this decision by the STF, it is only necessary to pay the ISS referring to your municipality. In addition, given the unconstitutionality of this retention, it is possible, through the opening of administrative proceedings, to be reimbursed for the amounts paid in duplicate in recent years.

On the other hand, it is essential to remember that this STF decision only judged the Brazilian CPOM of São Paulo. That is, in other cities this charge can still be a reality. Therefore, it is necessary to further research and understand how the tax scenario is in these other places.

Main advantages of CPOM extinction in São Paulo

In the previous topic, we mentioned the possibility of recovering the amounts of ISS (Service Tax) contributions that were paid in duplicate in the last five years.

The advantages, however, do not stop there. The change coming from the court decision paves the way for a very optimistic outlook for service providers. Learn about some of the benefits of CPOM extinction:

• Easier pricing

A very evident problem and source of many inconveniences was understanding how to price their services during negotiations with the contracting company. The following question always appeared: whether or not to include this second fee in the amount charged to the customer?

Due to the end of double taxation in São Paulo, worrying about this will no longer be a recurrent activity. Therefore, when preparing the pricing for the services provided, you can only consider the ISS contributed in the city where you live.

In this way, it is possible for the company to offer more affordable prices and, above all, more competitive in relation to the competition.

• Less bureaucracy

With double taxation, those who were going to provide some service as a Legal Entity (PJ) needed to worry twice as much about tax burdens to be paid. In other words, there were much more bureaucracies involved when closing a contract.

The change in legislation brings a less bureaucratic and much more agile context. Having only one ISS contribution facilitates, without a shadow of a doubt, the daily lives of these companies.

• Best profit margin

Ensuring fewer headaches by reducing bureaucracy and, consequently, making pricing simpler brings the most important advantage to the fore: increasing the service provider’s profit margin.

Due to the extinction of CPOM, the amount that was previously destined to the payment of the tax for the city of São Paulo ends up being a saving for the company. In other words, there are less tax costs and more cash left over.

Conclusão

Now that you know what the CPOM is, how it emerged in the tax regime and the ramifications of the new path opened up by the STF decision, you need to pay attention to other details in relation to this.

While the regulation of São Paulo is not adequate to the new rules of the decision contained in RE 1,167,509 STF, the legal requirements of the city must be followed by the service providers.

Another tip for this moment of transition is to show this legal basis in the body of your next invoices as follows:

Invoice issued in accordance with RE 1,167,509 STF, DJE 03/16/2021.

Also, be sure to talk to the requesting company about this decision taken by the Supreme Court. This way, you avoid the tax being withheld by the São Paulo tax system.

If you have any further questions, count on our team here at CLM to guide you in the best possible way in a completely free consultation. We are always available.

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