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VAT & CERTIFIED BILLING SOFTWARE IN PORTUGAL
With the digital era growing in a fast way, e-commerce platforms, such as marketplaces, have been playing a central and fundamental role in the new business models of the digital economy, thus creating the need to adapt the VAT regime to this new reality .
Following this need, the European Union has approved in recent years two directives on value added tax obligations for the provision of services and online sales, Council Directive No. 2017/2455, of December 5, 2017, and n. 2019/1995 of the Council, of 21 November 2019, which were later transposed and supplemented in Portugal by law no. 47/2020, of 24 August. This law brings a set of amendments to the VAT Code in Portugal, to the VAT Regime on Intracommunity Transactions and to the complementary legislation relating to this tax, within the scope of the treatment of electronic commerce.
The new rules began in 1 July 2021, for the obligations defined in article 4 of Decree-Law No. 28/2019, of 15 February, relating to non-established taxable persons, when registered for VAT purposes in Portugal.
The Decree-Law No. 28/2019 introduces aspects related to the obligations of processing invoices and fiscally relevant documents, and Article 4 defines the obligation to use invoicing computer programs certified by the Tax Authority not only by taxable persons with a permanent establishment or domicile in national territory, but also by non-resident taxable persons who present VAT registrations in Portugal whenever:
1) they present a turnover in excess of €50,000 in the previous calendar year;
2) use invoicing computer programs;
3) are required to have organized accounting or have opted for it. It is, however, important to note that taxable persons for whom the tax payment obligation falls on the taxable person who acquires the goods or receives the services are not subject to the above mentioned obligation.
This is one of the obligations that is mentioned again in Circular Letter No. 30235, published by the Tax Authority on April 27, 2021, which includes guidelines regarding the rights and obligations in the VAT area of non-taxable persons residents and without a permanent establishment in the national territory, but who provide services or transfer goods here. In this Official Letter, other general obligations of the VAT Code are also mentioned, to which taxable persons carrying out taxable transactions in national territory are also subject from 1 July of 2021, such as the exclusive use of computer programs previously certified by the Tax Authority in the invoice processing and other fiscally relevant documents, the payment of tax and the submission of the VAT return declaration.
Due to this, non-resident taxable persons without a permanent establishment in Portugal, as is the case of e-commerce platform operators, now face new challenges, similar to those already imposed on taxable persons with a permanent establishment and need to be in compliance with the EU and Portuguese laws and obligations, such as:
a) Issuance of invoice and other fiscally relevant documents through the exclusive use of computer programs certified by the Portuguese Tax Authority, in accordance with legal requirements;
b) Ensure compliance with legal requirements in the processing of invoices and fiscally relevant documents such as:
date and sequential numbering;
identification of the supplier and the buyer;
quantity and name of the goods or services provided;
the net price, applicable rates and amount of tax due;
four characters of the digital signature;
certified program number;
and from the first day of next year, a two-dimensional barcode (QR code) and a unique document code (ATCUD).
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