Tax penalties
The following table includes a non-exhaustive list of the most significant tax penalties. The amounts mentioned relate to corporations, assuming negligence. Other tax penalties apply in case of intention, or in case of individuals.
| Situation | Tax penalty (1) (2) | Late assessment interest (3) | Late payment interest (4) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Failure or late filing of tax returns | |||
| Failure to file statement of commencement, changes or cease of activity (Corporate Income Tax, VAT) | € 600 to € 7,500 | N/A | N/A |
| Failure or late filing of tax returns which aim to assess the tax due (e.g. CIT and VAT tax returns) | € 300 to € 3,750 | N/A | N/A |
Failure, delay, omissions and inaccuracies of the tax return filing concerning transfer of funds to countries, territories or regions with a more favorable tax regime |
€ 6,000 to € 165,000 | N/A | N/A |
| Lack or delay in payment of the tax due | |||
| Lack or delay in the payment of the tax due (e.g.VAT, withholding tax, payment on account, special payment on account, additional payment on account, stamp tax and real estate transfer tax | 30% to 100% of the tax due | 4%/year | 4.825%/year |
| Transfer Pricing | |||
| Lack of filing of transfer pricing documentation within the deadline established by the tax authorities | € 1,000 to € 10,000, plus 5% per each day of delay | N/A | N/A |
| Automatic exchange of financial account information | |||
| Omissions or inaccuracies regarding the exchange of information by reporting financial institutions in accordance with the Decree-Law no. 61/2013, dated 10 may | € 500 to € 11,250 | N/A | N/A |
| Failure to comply with due diligence procedures, registration and preservation of documents, foreseen in the Decree-Law no. 61/2013, dated 10 may | € 500 to € 11,250 | N/A | N/A |
| Country-by- country reporting | |||
| Lack of filing, in the deadline established by the tax authorities of the financial and tax reporting statement per country or jurisdiction in respect of the entities of a multinational group. | € 1,000 to € 10,000, plus 5% per each day of delay | N/A | N/A |
| Withholding taxes | |||
| Delay in obtaining certificates of residence (EU Directives and Double Taxation Treaties) | € 750 to € 3,750 | N/A | N/A |
| Omissions or inaccuracies in tax returns | |||
| Omissions or inaccuracies in relevant documents for tax purposes (if tax due) | € 750 to € 22,500 | 4%/year | N/A |
| Omissions or inaccuracies in relevant documents for tax purposes (if no tax due) | € 187.5 to € 5,625 | N/A | N/A |
| Binding ruling request | |||
| Omissions or inaccuracies regarding acts, facts or documents which are relevant for the analysis of urgent binding ruling requests | € 750 to € 22,500 | N/A | N/A |
| Omissions or inaccuracies regarding acts, facts or documents which are relevant for the analysis of non-urgent binding ruling requests | € 187,5 to € 5,625 | N/A | N/A |
| SAF-T PT | |||
| Inexistence of software to extract files (Standard Audit File for tax purposes – Portuguese version / SAF-T PT) | € 450 to € 22,500 | N/A | N/A |
| Standard accounting rules | |||
| Failure to prepare accounts in accordance with the standard accounting | € 1,000 to € 10,000 | N/A | N/A |
| Delay in the preparation of accounting, records, or in the preparation of other writing elements, or records | € 500 to € 5,000 | ||
| Preparation of a data export standard file without observing the data model structure established in the law | € 500 to € 5,000 | ||
| Issuance/request for invoices and receipts | |||
| Failure to issue invoices or receipts | € 300 to € 3,750 | N/A | N/A |
| Failure to request invoices or receipts | € 150 to € 2,000 | N/A | N/A |
| Non compliance with the mandatory period to keep invoices and receipts | € 150 to € 2,000 | N/A | N/A |
| The failure or delay in the communication of the elements of invoices or inventories | € 400 to € 10,000 | N/A | N/A |
| Software mis use | |||
| Creation, transfer or trade of software conceived with the purpose of preventing or changing the assessment of the taxpayer’s situation | € 7,500 to € 37,500 | N/A | N/A |
| Failure to use certified invoicing software or equipment | € 3,000 to € 18,750 | N/A | N/A |
| Trade of non-certified software | € 3,000 to € 18,750 | N/A | N/A |
| Bank accounts | |||
| Failure to hold a bank account when mandatory | € 540 to € 27,000 | N/A | N/A |
| Failure to perform operations through bank accounts in accordance with the law | € 360 to € 4,500 | N/A | N/A |
| Payments made through non authorized legal means | € 360 to € 4.500 | N/A | N/A |
| Tax Groups | |||
| Failure or late filing of tax declaration as set out in article 69/7 (b and d) of the Corporate Income Tax Code. | € 1,000 to € 22,500 | N/A | N/A |
| Tax representation | |||
| Absence of the representative appointment and omission of its explicit acceptance | € 150 to € 7,500 |
N/A |
N/A |
| Lack of identification by the representative (of non-residents) of the manager of assets and rights | € 150 to € 3,750 |
N/A |
N/A |
(1) There is a possibility of applying for penalty reduction provided certain requirements are met.
(2) The penalty amount, in case of negligence cannot be lower than € 50 (or € 25, in case of penalty reduction), or higher than € 45,000, unless the tax law establishes differently.
(3) Due in case of delay on the assessment of taxes due. Annual tax rate of 4%. Interest is computed daily, according to the following formula: tax amount * interest rate * number of days outstanding / 365.
(4) Due in case of delay in the payment of the tax assessed; Annual tax rate of 4,825% for 2019 established by Statement, dated 17 December 2018, issued by the Public Institute of Treasury Management and Public Debt1
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