LAGOS NAVIGATORS
Portuguese Annual Boat Tax, 2010
(Revisions in red, 12th Feb 2010
THESE NOTES ARE FOR INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE ONLY.
EACH INDIVIDUAL MUST CLARIFY HIS OWN LEGAL
RESPONSIBILITIES.
ONLY
“FINANÇAS” CAN GIVE A DEFINITIVE STATEMENT OF THE LAW.
A Brief Backgroun=
d
<=
span
lang=3DEN-US style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;color:#0070C0'>New
Legislation from 2008
While the basic principle =
of
taxing “vehicles” remains the same, changes were introduced in =
the
calculation, application, timing and payment procedures. These were set out in a new law th=
at
came into effect from 1st Jan 2008.
<=
span
lang=3DEN-US style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;color:#0070C0'>Admi=
nistration
and Interpretation
This law is still locally administered - but many areas of interpretation have yet to be decided and passed down from Lisbon to the lo= cal offices. In the absence of su= ch guidance, local officers are left to devise their own procedures.
Again, our Marina Manager has met the authorities on our behal= f, seeking to establish what the local ground rules are and to help us avoid t= he risk of penalties for missing a deadline.
We have also raised the issue of
“Timing” with the Lisbon authorities in late 2009, and show the
results of these discussions below.
=
It is stressed tha=
t only
the Finance Ministry in Lisbon can make the final decision on the law. However, the interpretations made =
by the
local Chief Financial Officer, and clarified in discussion with the Marina
Manager, will be applied to yachts based in Marina De Lagos.
Tax Rate
From 2008, “Boat Tax=
” became
based on engine power only. I=
t uses
Kilowatts as the measure of power, and the rate for 2009 is €2.10 per=
Kw.
(1 HP =3D 0.7457 Kw.)
Boats registered before 19=
86
and/or with an engine of less than 20 Kw. (=3D 26.82 HP) are exempt. There is no requirement to registe=
r or
to claim this exemption. <=
span
lang=3DEN-US style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;color:#0070C0'>Paym=
ent
Procedures for Portuguese-Registered Boats The tax is now payable by =
31st
Jan each year. Provision exists for the declaratio=
n of
ownership, calculation of tax, and subsequent payment to be made via the
Internet and/or “Multibanco” systems. This procedure is the sam=
e as
that used for tax on cars.Tax Exemption
Tax Liability
Following contact with the Central Finan&c=
cedil;as
Office (DGCI) in Lisbon, we have received written notification of the follo=
wing
clarification - which should be applied by all local tax offices.
The tax is applied to all foreign-registered yachts kept anywh= ere in Portugal, either ashore or afloat, for a CONTINUOUS PERIOD of more th= an183 days in any tax year – (which is the calendar year in Portugal= ). THER= E IS THEN A 30 DAY PERIOD, WITHIN WHICH THE TAX MUST BE PAID, and after this “period of grace”, there are penalties for late payment.
This means that =
if a “visiting”
foreign-registered boat is in Portugal on 1st Jan, it would beco=
me liable
for the tax on 4th July, and the tax must then be paid by 3=
rd
August. The dates obviously depend on your own date of arrival - e.g. if you
arrive on 1st April, you become liable on 2nd October=
and
have until 1st November to make the payment.
Conversely,
if you arrive from outwith Portugal after 2nd July, you cannot
achieve the 183 days needed to create liability in that tax year.
A (probably unintentional!) consequence of=
this clarification
is that for a boat kept in Portugal over a whole tax year, a documented abs=
ence
from Portugal - from say 1st to 5th July each year - =
will
avoid liability for this tax. An
alternative would be two short breaks in the spring and autumn – so l=
ong
as they were less than 183 days apart.
In theory, these tax avoidance tactics (NOT tax evasion!) coul=
d be
repeated ad infinitum. This s=
eems
too good to be true – and indeed it is. Under UK and Portuguese law, any b=
oat
kept here “permanently” should be registered here, and would
therefore fall under normal Portuguese rules. Being realistic, we must expect fu=
rther changes
to the law – or that the existing law is enforced more stringently.
An important point for genuine visitors is that each tax year = is treated as a separate “unit”.&= nbsp; Therefore the standard 9-month winter contract avoids tax liability = in both calendar years. Note als= o, that the local nature of the tax means that there is – at the moment ̵= 1; no exchange of information between different tax offices and therefore no facility to check on time spent in other marinas or in anchorages. <= /p>
Payment Procedure=
s for Foreign-Registered
Boats
=
If and when you need to pay the tax
Normally, to pay any tax in Portugal the individual needs a &q= uot;Número de Contribuinte", which is just a Fiscal Identification Number. It has nothing to do with Income Tax! If you already have one,= you can continue to pay the tax as in the past.
Fiscal
Representatives
If you do NOT yet have a Fiscal Number, you will NOT be able to get one unl= ess you have a fixed address in Portugal – and “Yacht Rosy; Berth J 05;= Marina De Lagos” is not an acceptable address. In this case you must appoin= t a “Fiscal Representative” - usually an accountant or lawyer ̵= 1; who acts officially on your behalf and effectively underwrites your legal commitments. Many such = bodies advertise in the local press – and recently one yachtsman paid a lawy= er €50, to make his payment of Boat Tax. Note that this law also applies to non-resident property owners.
You could get a friend, who already has a Numero Contribuente,= to pay this tax for you. He then becomes, in effect, your “Fiscal Representative” - and this role has significant legal responsibilities. Neither we, nor the Marina Management, will undertake this duty on behalf of any other yachtsman, as i= t has open-ended commitments that extend far into the future.
A local lawyer who has helped a number of Lagos yachtsmen to o= btain a Numero Contribuente and pay their Boat Tax is:- Sª Elsa Cintra; Rua Francisco = Sá Carneiro, 7D; 8600-581, Lagos. Tel 282 767 306; email elsa_cint= ra_adv@hotmail.com. Her office is opposite the Main Post Office, 500 mtrs from the Finanç= ;as Office.
This is= our understanding of the position as at 12th February 2010, based on= letters to and from the Central Finanças Office (DGCI) in Lisbon and discuss= ions between the Marina de Lagos Manager and the Lagos Chief Financial Officer.<= o:p>
If you =
have a
query about this note, contact us via our web site, www.lagosnavigators.net
Queries=
on your
own
For tho=
se
interested, copies of the text of the relevant law, and of the letter from =
DGCI
are attached – but they are, obviously, written in Portuguese.
We thou=
ght
that they might be useful to other yachtsmen, in some other part of the
country.
![3D"2010-02-12](3D"BoatTaxHistory.htm_files/image002.jpg")
![3D"Boat](3D"BoatTaxHistory.htm_files/image004.jpg")