Portugal – Intrastat / EC Sales list
There are two departments in the “Instituto Nacional de Estatística” (“INE”) responsible for Intrastat reporting, one for companies with registered offices in the Mainland and the Autonomous Region of the Azores and other for companies with registered office in the Autonomous Region of Madeira.
To ensure that necessary information on trade between the EU Member States is made available, it became necessary to implement a system that monitors trade between enterprises based in the country and those that trade with other countries within the Community. Intrastat is a system that makes this type of information available.
Read more information regarding Intrastat below as well as EC Sales List in Portugal.
There are two different types of declarations for each type of trade:
- INTRASTAT DECLARATION – ARRIVAL
- INTRASTAT DECLARATION – DISPATCH
A monthly report on the arrivals and dispatches of goods during the reporting period is presented here.
INTRASTAT declarations must be submitted in paper or via electronic form by the 15th day of the month following the period covered by the declaration.
Paper filing
Companies can opt to send the returns by mail to the Taxing Authorities. Companies should keep a copy of all returns sent by email for two years.
Electronically
Via WebInq. For this purpose, a user-id and a password must be obtained.
Selling in Portugal?
Intrastat Thresholds
In Portugal, the reporting threshold for goods is the following:
Dispatches:
| Type of Return | Threshold |
| Detailed with the statistical procedure (Mainland and Autonomous Region of Azores) | EUR 6.500.000 |
| Detailed (Mainland and Autonomous Region of Azores) | EUR 250.000 |
| The autonomous region of Madeira | EUR 25.000 |
Arrivals:
| Type of Return | Threshold |
| Detailed with the statistical procedure (Mainland and Autonomous Region of Azores) | EUR 5.000.000 |
| Detailed (Mainland and Autonomous Region of Azores) | EUR 350.000 |
| The autonomous region of Madeira | EUR 25.000 |
According to the guidelines issued by the Instituto Nacional de Estatistica, if a company exceeds the threshold during the year, it must file Intrastat returns as of the month in which the first transaction occurred (e.g., even if the company only exceeds the threshold in April and transactions occurred in January, it must file Intrastat returns as of January).
ESL in Portugal
Portuguese individuals or entities subject to taxation who participate in transactions within the EU must submit a statement summarizing their transactions (referred to as an “EC Sales List” or ESL) which provides information on their supplies of goods and services within the EU.
Compliance with the ESL reporting requirements is necessary in order for the transactions to be exempt with credit. The ESL, as specified under Article 29 of the Portuguese VAT Code and Article 30 of the RITI, must include certain details regarding the customers of the filer who are residents and VAT-registered in EU Member States other than Portugal, as well as the total value of the supplies made to them in the relevant taxable period, in euros.
As of January 1, 2020, in accordance with one of the EU’s “Quick Fixes,” the ESL must also include details about the recipients of goods involved in call-off stock arrangements. The ESL must be submitted electronically on a monthly basis by taxpayers who file monthly periodic tax returns and quarterly by those who file quarterly periodic tax returns.
However, if the value of intra-Community supplies of goods exceeds 50,000 euros in the current or any of the previous four quarterly periods, the recapitulative statement must be filed on a monthly basis.
The deadline for submitting the ESL is the 20th day of the month following the month or quarter being reported on.
Last Updated: 17/01/2022
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