Foreign companies will be required to file Portuguese SAF-T reports beginning in January 2023. According to the current certified billing requirement, which has been in effect since July 1, 2021, non-established entities holding a Portuguese VAT number and sending invoices with Portuguese VAT will be required to pay the Portuguese SAF-T obligation in addition to the permitted software duty.
This duty would be consistent with the information already accessible on the Portuguese tax authorities’ “Frequently Asked Questions on SAF-T,” which lists the following as subject to the SAF-T obligation: “SAF-T must be filed by taxpayers who conduct commercial, industrial, or agricultural activity (PT). This requirement also applies to taxpayers who utilize “certified invoicing software ” However, SAF-T for non-established corporations was never validated.
The policy was already authorized as part of the state budget for 2022.
What is the Portuguese SAF-T billing requirement?
The SAF-T, which stands for “Standard audit file for tax,” is a globally standardized file in XML format that lets tax information be shared and handled.
The Portuguese SAF-T submission is a monthly requirement that must be met by the 8th of each month for all invoices issued with Portuguese VAT. The file is generated by the authorized software used to generate invoices (certified billing obligations).
Please also note that a SAF-T with a value of zero is due and must be filed. This is anticipated to be accomplished by an extra system feature. The Portuguese SAF-T submission must be completed accurately and on time, as the late filing of the report may result in fines or other penalties
As stated earlier, SAF-T comes with certified billing responsibility.
Consequently, if you are a non-established firm registered for VAT in Portugal and are currently producing bills with Portuguese VAT using an approved billing software, you will also be required to submit the SAF-T beginning in January 2023.
Similarly, the following transactions are exempt from this obligation:
Invoices issued using the method of reverse charge
Invoices issued for public events, such as tickets to museums or performances, concerts, and the like (bearer documents),
Difference between accounting SAF-T and invoicing SAF-T in Portuguese
Accounting SAF-T responsibilities should not be confused with invoicing SAF-T for unincorporated firms. Accounting SAF-T applies to all businesses, both incorporated and unincorporated.
An accounting SAF-T duty mandates the publication of all Portuguese accounting information, including your chart of accounts, so-called “taxonomas,” general ledger, supplier and customer master data, and treasury information. As it is a requirement on demand, it only needs to be supplied when asked for by the tax authorities. In Portugal, only established businesses must submit accounting SAF-T files. If you do not have a physical presence in the country, you are not required to submit this obligation.
The invoice SAF-T file contains information on issued invoices. It must be provided quarterly by all enterprises registered for VAT in Portugal (including foreign , non-established companies once the new requirement enters into force). Using software that enables you to produce this file automatically makes it simpler to comply with SAF-T for invoices.