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Brazil's Receita Federal, answering one Simples Nacional consultation, says AI integration and process automation work can count as technological innovation for Lei 11.196/2005 incentives if specific criteria are met
This is a Receita Federal answer to one taxpayer's consultation, not a statute or regulation, filed under the Simples Nacional heading; we did not verify its wider binding or protective effect. The answer is conditional. On the RFB's account, AI and automation work can count as technological innovation where it results in the development or substantial improvement of a product, process or service with real gains, comes from genuine research or development effort beyond tools already on the market, and is set out in a research and development project sent to the MCTI.
Bottom line: This is a Receita Federal answer to one taxpayer's consultation, not a statute or regulation: a solução de consulta, filed under Assunto: Simples Nacional and addressed to micro and small companies (ME and EPP). It answers one taxpayer's question on that taxpayer's facts; we did not open the rules on how far such answers bind, so we state no wider effect, and nothing in the ementa grants automatic eligibility for any AI adoption. Part of the consultation was also declared ineffective.
Who this affects: Brazilian CPAs (contadores) and tax counsel who advise microempresas and empresas de pequeno porte, including Simples Nacional optants, on Lei do Bem (Lei 11.196/2005) innovation incentives, and the finance leads at small firms building AI or automation projects.
Issue date: Dated 25 September 2026. Published in the Diário Oficial da União on 29 September 2026, Edição 184, Seção 1, Página 43. The ementa sets no deadline.
What changed: In this answer, the Coordenação-Geral de Tributação says work involving process analysis and improvement, automation and the integration of artificial intelligence "são passíveis de ser considerados inovação tecnológica" (our translation: are capable of being considered technological innovation) for the Lei 11.196/2005 incentives, "Desde que observados critérios específicos" (our translation: provided specific criteria are observed).
Analysis: On our reading, the line that matters for advisers is the exclusion. The ementa ties the treatment to genuine research effort that goes beyond "o mero uso de ferramentas tecnológicas já disponíveis no mercado" (our translation: the mere use of technological tools already available on the market). Licensing an off-the-shelf AI product, without more, does not meet the test as the RFB states it in this consulta.
- Instrument (EN)
- Solution of Consultation No. 193 of 25 September 2026 (Solução de Consulta nº 193, de 25 de setembro de 2026)
- Authority
- Coordenação-Geral de Tributação, Subsecretaria de Tributação e Contencioso, Secretaria Especial da Receita Federal do Brasil, Ministério da Fazenda. Signed by Rodrigo Augusto Verly de Oliveira, Coordenador-Geral
- Jurisdiction
- Brazil (federal)
- Status
- Published in the DOU on 29 September 2026, Edição 184, Seção 1, Página 43, in a bundle of consultation answers whose page title names Solução de Consulta nº 185
- Bindingness
- A consultation answer to one taxpayer's query, not a statute or regulation. We did not verify how far it binds or protects anyone beyond the consulente. A second ementa declares the consultation partially ineffective
- Issue date / next deadline
- Dated 25 September 2026; published 29 September 2026. No deadline in the ementa
- Subject heading
- Assunto: Simples Nacional. INOVAÇÃO TECNOLÓGICA. CARACTERIZAÇÃO E CRITÉRIOS. INCENTIVOS FISCAIS. MICROEMPRESAS E EMPRESAS DE PEQUENO PORTE. SIMPLES NACIONAL.
- Legal provisions cited
- Lei nº 11.196/2005, arts. 17 e 18, § 2º; Decreto nº 5.798/2006, arts. 2º, 7º, § 2º e 14; Instrução Normativa RFB nº 1.187/2011, arts. 2º e 4º (as printed in the ementa)
- Primary source
- https://www.in.gov.br/web/dou/-/solucao-de-consulta-n-185-de-24-de-setembro-de-2026-735102199
What did the Receita Federal say about AI and automation?
It said such work can qualify, not that it does. The ementa of Solução de Consulta nº 193 opens with a condition. In full, the first sentence reads: "Desde que observados critérios específicos, os trabalhos envolvendo análise e melhoria de processos, automação e integração de inteligência artificial são passíveis de ser considerados inovação tecnológica para fins de enquadramento nos incentivos fiscais da Lei nº 11.196, de 21 de novembro de 2005." Our translation: provided specific criteria are observed, work involving process analysis and improvement, automation and the integration of artificial intelligence is capable of being considered technological innovation for the purpose of qualifying for the tax incentives of Lei 11.196 of 21 November 2005.
That is the RFB's answer to one consulente, on that consulente's facts. It is not a general ruling that AI projects qualify.
The second sentence sets the test. On the RFB's account, "O ponto fundamental consiste em demonstrar se essas atividades resultam no desenvolvimento ou no aprimoramento substancial de um produto, processo ou serviço, gerando efetivos ganhos de qualidade, produtividade e competitividade para a pessoa jurídica." Our translation: the fundamental point is to demonstrate whether these activities result in the development or substantial improvement of a product, process or service, generating real gains in quality, productivity and competitiveness for the legal entity. The burden the sentence describes sits with the company: "demonstrar", to demonstrate.
Where does the answer draw the line?
At tools bought off the shelf. The ementa's second paragraph says the design of a new product or service, or the addition of new functions, "deve advir de um esforço genuíno de pesquisa tecnológica ou de desenvolvimento de inovação tecnológica, que supere o mero uso de ferramentas tecnológicas já disponíveis no mercado". Our translation: should arise from a genuine effort of technological research or of technological innovation development that goes beyond the mere use of technological tools already available on the market.
For a small firm's adviser, this is the sentence to test a file against. Within this consulta answer, a project that consists of subscribing to a commercial AI service and switching it on would, on our reading, sit on the wrong side of it. A project with its own research or development work might not. The ementa gives no worked example of either, and we do not supply one.
The same paragraph adds a procedural condition, again in the RFB's words: "A legislação impõe, ainda, a elaboração de projeto de pesquisa tecnológica e desenvolvimento de inovação tecnológica, bem como o seu encaminhamento ao Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovações - MCTI." Our translation: the legislation also imposes the preparation of a technological research and technological innovation development project, and its submission to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI). The ementa does not say when or in what form the project goes to the MCTI.
Why is this filed under Simples Nacional?
Because the consultation was. The ementa is headed "Assunto: Simples Nacional", and its subject line ends "MICROEMPRESAS E EMPRESAS DE PEQUENO PORTE. SIMPLES NACIONAL." The DOU text does not reproduce the consulente's facts; the heading is all the published ementa says about the regime context.
What the ementa does not do is explain how the Lei 11.196 incentives operate for a company taxed under the Simples Nacional, or which incentive under that law the consulente had in mind. It states the innovation criteria and the legal provisions. Advisers who need the regime interaction answered will not find it in this text, and we do not answer it here.
The provisions the ementa cites are printed as: "Lei nº 11.196, de 21 de novembro de 2005, arts. 17 e 18, § 2º; Decreto nº 5.798, de 7 de junho de 2006, arts. 2º, 7º, § 2º e 14; Instrução Normativa RFB nº 1.187, 29 de agosto de 2011, arts. 2º e 4º." We did not open those instruments, and we report them only as the ementa lists them.
What does the partial-ineffectiveness ementa mean for advisers?
Some of the consulente's questions got no answer. Solução de Consulta nº 193 carries a second ementa, under "Assunto: Normas de Administração Tributária" and headed "PROCESSO DE CONSULTA. INEFICÁCIA PARCIAL".
It reads: "São ineficazes e não produzem efeitos os questionamentos formulados por consulente que não seja o sujeito passivo da obrigação tributária, sobre fato disciplinado em ato normativo publicado na Imprensa Oficial antes de sua apresentação, ou com o objetivo de prestação de assessoria jurídica ou contábil-fiscal por parte da Secretaria Especial da Receita Federal do Brasil." Our translation: questions are ineffective and produce no effects where they are put by a consulente who is not the taxpayer liable for the tax obligation, concern a fact governed by a normative act published in the Official Press before the consultation was filed, or seek legal or accounting and tax advisory services from the Receita Federal. The cited basis is Instrução Normativa RFB nº 2.058/2021, arts. 2º, caput, inc. I, and 27, caput, incisos I, VII e XIV.
The ementa lists three grounds and does not say which of them applied, or to which questions. We do not guess. The practical point for CPAs and counsel who draft consultations for small clients is plainer: on the RFB's account, a question framed as a request for advice, rather than as a question about the client's own tax position, can be declared ineffective.
How far can a small firm rely on it?
The ementa we read does not answer that. It does not establish whether, or how, this answer binds or protects taxpayers other than the consulente; that is not something we verified, so we state no position on it. What the ementa does support is narrower: it grants no automatic tax eligibility for any AI adoption.
On our reading, the answer is more useful as a checklist than as a green light. Within this consulta, three things stand out: the development or substantial improvement of a product, process or service with real gains, demonstrated by the company; genuine research or development effort beyond market-available tools; and a research and development project prepared and sent to the MCTI. Each comes from the ementa. None of them is new law created by this answer, which cites the existing Lei 11.196, Decreto 5.798 and IN RFB 1.187 as its basis.
What we did not verify
What we opened: the Diário Oficial da União web page for 29 September 2026, Edição 184, Seção 1, Página 43. The page title and URL name Solução de Consulta nº 185, de 24 de setembro de 2026, because the page carries a bundle of consultation answers; Solução de Consulta nº 193, de 25 de setembro de 2026, appears further down the same page with its own heading, two ementas, cited provisions and signature. The page states: "Este conteúdo não substitui o publicado na versão certificada."
What we did not open: the certified PDF version of the DOU page; the full text of the consultation answer beyond the published ementas, including the consulente's facts and reasoning; Lei 11.196/2005, Decreto 5.798/2006, IN RFB 1.187/2011 and IN RFB 2.058/2021 themselves; any MCTI guidance on project submission; and any statement by the consulente.
What we refuse to claim: we do not say that AI adoption, automation or any named tool qualifies for Lei do Bem incentives; that every Simples Nacional or ME/EPP taxpayer can use these incentives; how the incentives interact with the Simples Nacional regime; any tax amount, rate or benefit size, none of which the ementa states; which ground of ineffectiveness applied; or that this answer is the first of its kind. We cite this ruling as Solução de Consulta nº 193, not the nº 185 shown in the page title.
Translations from Portuguese are our own and are labelled "our translation". Quotations are reproduced in the original Portuguese, with accents, as printed on the DOU page.
Informational analysis for working professionals, not legal advice. Confirm how any rule applies to your situation with qualified counsel.
Before a small client claims Lei do Bem treatment for an AI or automation project, its adviser should be able to show the development or substantial improvement of a product, process or service with real gains, research or development effort beyond tools already on the market, and a project prepared and sent to the MCTI. Solução de Consulta nº 193 states those criteria for one consulente under the Simples Nacional heading, and qualifies nobody automatically.
Source File
https://www.in.gov.br/web/dou/-/solucao-de-consulta-n-185-de-24-de-setembro-de-2026-735102199
Open the DOU page of 29 September 2026 (Edição 184, Seção 1, Página 43), scroll past Soluções de Consulta nº 185 to 192 to the heading "SOLUÇÃO DE CONSULTA Nº 193, DE 25 DE SETEMBRO DE 2026", and confirm the Simples Nacional subject line, the two paragraphs of the innovation ementa, the cited provisions, and the separate partial-ineffectiveness ementa. Check the certified version for the authoritative text.
Desde que observados critérios específicos, os trabalhos envolvendo análise e melhoria de processos, automação e integração de inteligência artificial são passíveis de ser considerados inovação tecnológica para fins de enquadramento nos incentivos fiscais da Lei nº 11.196, de 21 de novembro de 2005. · Solução de Consulta nº 193, Coordenação-Geral de Tributação, 25 September 2026 (DOU 29 September 2026)
FAQ
Does Solução de Consulta 193 make AI projects eligible for Lei do Bem incentives?
No, not automatically. It says work involving process improvement, automation and AI integration is capable of being considered technological innovation if specific criteria are met, including the development or substantial improvement of a product, process or service with real gains, genuine research effort beyond tools already on the market, and a project submitted to the MCTI.
Is the answer binding on other taxpayers?
The ementa we read does not establish whether or how the answer binds or protects other taxpayers. We did not verify that, and we take no position. The ementa does not grant automatic tax eligibility for any AI adoption.
Why does the ementa mention Simples Nacional and small companies?
The consultation was filed under Assunto: Simples Nacional, and the subject line refers to microempresas and empresas de pequeno porte. The ementa does not explain how the Lei 11.196 incentives operate for a Simples Nacional company, and we do not address that question.
What was partially ineffective?
A second ementa says questions are ineffective where the consulente is not the taxpayer, the fact is governed by a normative act already published, or the question seeks legal or accounting and tax advice from the Receita Federal. It does not say which ground applied to which question.
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