How to activate electronic notifications and remove your fiscal representative
Follow these step-by-step instructions to activate electronic notifications on Portal das Finanças and remove your fiscal representative.
Overview
In July 2022, the Portuguese Tax Authorities issued a new ruling that waived the obligation of maintaining a fiscal representative for non-residents under the following conditions:
- The person is not a tax resident of an EU / EEA country.
- The person does not have any tax obligations in Portugal.
- The person has enabled electronic notifications on the Tax Office Portal (Portal das Finanças).
Since this is a new ruling, it has not been fully adopted by all tax offices in Portugal. As a result, many people have not been able to remove their fiscal representative despite satisfying the legal requirements. In these cases, your fiscal representative continues to be responsible for forwarding any notices from the tax office to you.
Who this is for
- You are waiting for your residence card to be issued
- Your plans have changed and you are no longer moving to Portugal
Before getting started
Before proceeding with this guide, you need to confirm your email address on Portal das Finanças account. See our guide for more details - How to confirm your email address on Portal das Finanças
What you need
- Your Portugal NIF document
- Your password to Portal das Finanças. When will I receive my password?
Step 1: Log in to Portal das Finanças
1. Go to https://www.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt/
2. Click on the Iniciar Sessão button at the top right corner of the page.
3. Click on the NIF tab
4. Enter your NIF number. Where can I find my NIF number?
5. Enter your password.
6. Click the Autenticar button.
Step 2: Navigate to your notification settings
1. Search for the keyword Gerir Canais using the search bar at the top of the page.
2. Find “Gerir Canais” and click Aceder.
Step 3: Activate electronic notifications
Under the section "Canais de Notificação", find the "Portal das Finanças" row and click the Ativar button. The status should change from "Inativo" (inactive) to "Pendente Ativação" (pending activation).
Your request will be approved based on the following schedule:
On or before the 10th of the month
1st of the following month
Requests made on January 7 will be activated on February 1
After the 10th of the month
1st of the month after the next
Requests made on January 11 will be activated on March 1
If you’d like to cancel your fiscal representation but are still awaiting the activation of your electronic notifications, please send a screenshot to support@bordr.com confirming your pending request.
Here's a sample of what we'll need, please make sure the screenshot shows your name and NIF number in the upper left corner:
Step 4: Confirm activation
Repeat Steps 1 and 2 to log back in to the Portal based on the schedule above.
Once the status of your electronic notifications has been updated to "Ativo" (Active), take a screenshot of the page. See the example below.
Step 5: Navigate to e-balcão
1. Search for the keyword e-balcão using the search bar at the top of the page.
2. Find “Atendimento e-balcão” and click Aceder.
Step 6: Register a new question
Click on the Registar Nova Questão button under the Pedido de Informações / Esclarecimentos section.
Step 7: Submit request
1. Select the following options from the dropdown menus.
Imposto ou área
Registro Contribuinte
Tipo de Questão
Identific
Questão
Representação Fiscal
2. Select Não to the following question - "Alguma destas responde às suas dúvidas?"
3. Complete the form.
Copy-paste the text below and replace the following fields:
- [your fiscal representative's name]
- [your fiscal representative's NIF]
- [your current country of residence]
- [your name]
Your fiscal representative's information name and NIF number will be listed on your NIF document. Where can I find my fiscal representative's information?
Assunto
Cancelamento de Representação Fiscal
Cancellation of Fiscal Representation
Mensagem
Prezado(a), bom dia!
Espero que esteja bem.
Solicito o cancelamento de [your fiscal representative's name] - TIN [your fiscal representative's NIF] como meu representante fiscal.
Vivo actualmente em [your current country of residence]. Ativei as notificações eletrónicas no portal, e não tenho obrigações fiscais em território português.
Muito obrigado pela sua assistência e tenha um bom dia.
Cumprimentos,
[Your name]
Dear Sir/Madam, good morning!
I hope you are well.
I request the cancellation of [your fiscal representative's name] - TIN [your fiscal representative's NIF] as my fiscal representative.
I currently live in [your current country of residence]. I activated the electronic notifications in the portal, and I have no tax obligations in the Portuguese territory.
Thank you very much for your assistance and have a nice day.
Best,
[Your name]
4. Attach the screenshot that you took in Step 4.
Under “Selecione o ficheiro a enviar”, click the Procurar button and upload your screenshot.
5. Click the Registar Questão button to submit your request.
6. Wait for 1-2 business days before proceeding to the next step.
Step 8: Download your updated NIF
1. Log in to Portal das Finanças.
2. Navigate to e-balcão (see Step 5).
3. Under Interações Registadas, find your message thread and click the Ver Pedido button. If successful the cancellation of fiscal representation was successful, your updated NIF document should be attached to their response.
4. Download your updated NIF document! 🎉
The Representate section of your new NIF document should be empty.
