Company structure in Portugal

• Company Name

  All names must be approved by the National Register of Companies. Three names must be proposed for approval, with the registry at its discretion on the most appropriate name. The name of the company should reflect the activities offered by the company. Once the name is approved, the registry will issue a registration certificate along with a provisional tax registration card.

• Registration desk

  All companies need a registered office in Portugal where official letters can be sent, where tax forms are executed and where all financial and information documents, including accounting records and company registers, must be. preserved. As part of our incorporation package we can provide a head office in Portugal.

• Directors

  Only one director is required and there are no restrictions on nationality or residence. Company registers must be kept at the official head office, while directors' registers are not accessible to the public.

  It is however compulsory that each Director and / or Shareholder has or obtains a Portuguese taxpayer identification number and that non-EU / EEA entities must have a resident tax representative.

• Shareholders

  Only one shareholder is required for a Portuguese company, and this person can also be the director. There are no restrictions on the number of shareholders nor on their nationality and residence. Shareholders can be natural or legal persons.

• Accounting

  Portuguese company law states that an ADL must appoint a company accountant responsible for its accounts.

• TIN - Tax identification number

  Obtaining a tax identification number is the first step that must be taken by all those wishing to set up a company in Portugal.

  The company will also be assigned a TIN, it is also the reference number for corporation tax, their VAT number and the company number.

• Presentation of the bank account

  We can open a corporate bank account remotely at most banks nationwide including Millennium, A Caixa de Deposito and BPI.

• Share capital

  The minimum share capital is € 5,000 and must be paid upon incorporation. A reserve is required in order to absorb any losses and 5% of the profits must be added to this reserve each year.

• Company Secretary

  Having a corporate secretary is only required for a listed company, otherwise it is not mandatory to have a corporate secretary when setting up a Portuguese company.

  It is however recommended when the company does not have a director residing in Portugal.

• Submission requirements

  Annual financial statements must be filed online with the Ministry of Finance for the previous year by June. The audit is not required if the business does not exceed a certain size.

• Creation deadlines

  The process of setting up a Portuguese company usually takes 7-10 working days.

  This includes opening a business account and filing the company with the tax office.

   

Key figures of Companies in Portugal

Official name	Portuguese Republic
Proper noun	República Portuguesa (pt)
Continent	Europe
Subcontinent	European Union
Population	10,291,027 inhabitants (2018)
Population growth	-0.12 % / year
Area	92,226 km²
Density	111.58 inhabitants / km²
GDP	237.979 billion $USD (2018)
GDP / capita	23,146 $USD (2018)
GDP growth	2.10 % / year (2018)
Life expectancy	81.90 years (2018)
Birth-rate	‰ 8.30 (2015)
Fertility rate	1.30 children / woman (2015)
Mortality rate	‰ 10.50 (2015)
Child mortality rate	2.90 ‰ (2015)
Literacy rate	95,68 % (2015)
Official languages	Portuguese
Change	Euro (€ EUR)
HDI	0,850 / 1 (2018)
IPE	71,91 (2018)
Nature of State	Republic
Head of state	President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
National Holiday	June 10 (death of Luís de Camões in 1580)
Codes ISO	PT, PRT
Nice	Portuguese, Portuguese
Tourists	18,200,000 people (2016)

 

Leap into the 21st century and accelerated aging

The Portugal is a country in southern Europe located west of the Iberian Peninsula. To the north and east it is bounded by Spain, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean. A member of the European Union, it is the westernmost part of continental Europe. It also includes the archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, located in the Atlantic Ocean.

 

 

Even though it suffered from the economic crisis, Portugal caught up with the average European standard of living in the 1980s and 1990s. It embarked, with great reinforcements of European subsidies, in the construction of infrastructure , sometimes disproportionate, including many highways and gigantic bridges over the Tagus, the river that flows in Lisbon, the capital.
Today very integrated into the world economy, it suffers from the same ills as its European partners, in particular a lack of economic competitiveness, and a strong demographic slowdown due to mass emigration and the accelerated aging of his population.

 

 

With an economy that is mainly based on services and tourism (the latter represents around 10 % of GDP), Portugal must now pay attention to better protect its environment if it is to continue to attract tourists and further improve living standards. of its inhabitants.
The crisis has unfortunately slowed down, or even reduced, the standard of living of a large number of Portuguese. Wages have fallen sharply, social services and social assistance have fallen. The number of young graduates who leave the country each year to find work abroad is estimated at around 20 %. Many go to Brazil, France, the United States and Angola, where oil prices have exploded economic growth and therefore the demand for skilled labor.
The population has therefore started to decline in recent years, and the phenomenon is slowly increasing. In 2016, the country saw its overall population drop by 0.34 %.

 

Corporate Taxation in Portugal