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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:

  1. The person is not a tax resident of an EU / EEA country.
  2. The person does not have any tax obligations in Portugal.
  3. 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

  1. Your Portugal NIF document
  2. 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.

portal das financas website homepage

3. Click on the NIF tab

portal das financas log in nif tab

4. Enter your NIF number. Where can I find my NIF number?

5. Enter your password.

6. Click the Autenticar button.

portal das financas log in with nif and password

Step 2: Navigate to your notification settings

1. Search for the keyword Gerir Canais using the search bar at the top of the page.

screenshot of portal das financas search

2. Find “Gerir Canais” and click Aceder.

portal das financas select gerir canais

Step 3: Activate electronic notifications

1. Under the section "Canais de Notificação", find the "Portal das Finanças" row and click the Ativar button.

portal das financas request to activate electronic notifications

2. Check the box then click the Ativar button to agree to the Terms and Conditions.

terms and conditions for activating e-notifications

3. The status should change from "Inativo" (inactive) to "Pendente Ativação" (pending activation).

Your request will be approved based on the following schedule:

Date of Request
Activation Date
Example

Day 1-20 of the month
(at least 10 days before the end of the month)

1st of the following month

Requests made on January 19 will be activated on February 1

Day 21 of the month onwards

1st of the month after the next

Requests made on January 25 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:

portal das financas pending activation

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.

proof of active electronic notifications

Step 5: Navigate to e-balcão

1. Search for the keyword e-balcão using the search bar at the top of the page.

search for e-balcao on portal das financas

2. Find “Atendimento e-balcão” and click Aceder.

portal das financas go to e-balcao

Step 6: Register a new question

Click on the Registar Nova Questão button under the Pedido de Informações / Esclarecimentos section.

e-balcao submit request

Step 7: Submit request

1. Select the following options from the dropdown menus.

Dropdown Menu
Select

Imposto ou área

Registro Contribuinte

Tipo de Questão

Identific

Questão

Representação Fiscal

select dropdowns for changing address EU

2. 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?

Form Field
Copy This Text
English Translation

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]

request to cancel tax representation

3. Attach the screenshot that you took in Step 4.
Under “Selecione o ficheiro a enviar”, click the Procurar button and upload your screenshot.

attach proof of address

4. Click the Registar Questão button to submit your request.

5. 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.

open message for tax representation cancellation request

4. Download your updated NIF document! 🎉
The Representate section of your new NIF document should be empty.

nif with no fiscal representative information