Payment Terms Legislation In Portugal

Decree-Law 62 of 2013 on measures against delays in the payment of commercial transactions enacts the EU Late Payment Directive (see European Union for details).

Law 118/2010 defines maximum payment terms for the supply of food in portugal. This was amended by Law 76/2021 to enact the EU UTP in the supply chain directive (see European Union for details). In addition non-perishable goods between suppliers of turnover less than €2m and buyers of turnover more than €2m, as well as suppliers of turnover between €2m and €10m to buyers of turnover greater than €10m, are also restricted to 30 days. This excludes catering and drinks companies.

The Code of Good Business Practice for the Agri-Food Supply Chain by The Portuguese Association of Distribution Companies promotes cooperation and transparency.

The Prompt Payment Commitment is a national code where large company leaders commit to pay suppliers on the agreed date and reduce late payments.

Default interest on late payment for commercial transactions is published semi-annually by the Entidade do Tesouro e Finanças (ETF, formerly DGTF). Under Decreto-Lei 62/2013 (transposing EU Directive 2011/7/EU), the rate for B2B and B2G late payment is the ECB main refinancing operations rate plus 8 percentage points. For general commercial credits under Article 102 §3 of the Código Comercial, the rate is ECB MRO plus 7 percentage points. Rates are published as avisos in the Diário da República by 15 January and 15 July each year.