Tax Justice

Transfer of pending judicial claims towards tax arbitration

There is now the possibility to transfer pending judicial claims before the tax courts towards tax arbitration.

Transfer admissibility conditions:

• Formalisation of the transfer request by 31 December 2024.
• The arbitration tax court shall be competent to issue a ruling on the case.
• The judicial claim shall be dependent on a decision at the first instance tax court, regardless of its value.
• The submission of the judicial claim was filed before 31 December 2021.

Consequences of the transfer:

• Extinction of the proceeding in the tax court.

• Eaintenance of the proceeding’s requests and legal grounds in the arbitration claim, without excluding the possibility of requesting the reduction of the claim value.

• Eresentation of the proceeding certificate together with the arbitration claim.

• Possibility of revocation, ratification, reform or conversion of the tax assessment by the Portuguese Tax Authorities.

Withdrawal of the judicial claim

Taxpayers who withdraw the judicial claim benefit from the exceptional incentive regime for administrative and tax proceedings extinction as provided in Decree-Law 30/2023, of 30 May, including the reduction of the court fees.

Extension of appeal possibilities

When the claim’s value exceeds EUR 10,000,000, the arbitration decision is considered equivalent to a tax court’s ruling and subject to appeal submission under the general terms of the Tax Procedure Code.

Reversal of the judicial claim extinction

In cases where the arbitration decision does not address the claim's merits, it is ex officio transferred by the arbitration court to the previously competent tax court, which will determine the reversal of the judicial claim extinction and the reopening of the proceeding as it was before the transfer.

Payments by electronic means

Payments made by companies to the tax authorities must be made exclusively electronically.