Portugal SAF-T (PT)

Non-resident business with a Portuguese VAT registration must submit monthly invoices under SAF-T PT from Jan 2023

Foreign businesses producing their Portuguese invoices using certified software are obliged from 1 January 2023 to submit monthly invoice summaries using the SAF-PT format. This will be due by the 12th (5th from January 2025) of the month following.

In addition to SAF-T, new QR code and ATCUD invoice code requirements coming into effect 1 January 2027 for non-resident taxpayers.

Portugal SAF-T PT since 2009

Portugal was the first country to implement the OECD’s Standard Audit File for Tax in 2009. It is known as SAF-T (PT) locally, and all income taxpayers are required to comply – meaning resident. SAF-T is standardised format for the reporting of VAT transactions – see below.

Check which other countries have implemented SAF-T.

3 SAF-T (PT) reports for all businesses from 2023

SAF-T (PT) includes monthly XML submissions, reconciled to the VAT return. There is also an annual reporting summary requirement. Data must be prepared on Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira (AT) approved software, and submitted by the 20^th of the month after the reporting period. At present, there are three Portuguese ledgers:

1. Accounting – The accounting systems must record the information to generate the electronic accounting file in SAFT-PT format. This monthly or annual declaration must include the lists of articles, clients and suppliers, VAT regimes, accounting movements and accounting plan. This will be used for completion of the annual IES reporting statement from 2022.
2. Billing reporting – The electronic VAT return in SAFT-PT format must be submitted before the 5th (previously 12th) of each month. The authorities require that the files be generated sequentially and go through an encryption process in which the electronic signature of the previous invoice is implemented as a control system for the file creation process.
3. Transport documents – Data in real time to the Tax and Customs Authority of Portugal. The solution automatically receives the code and integrates it into the transport document. This code allows the movement of goods.

OECD Standard Audit File for Tax ledger reporting

Since May 2005, SAF-T is recommended in the following five formats (per v2, 2010):

1. General Ledger: journals
2. Accounts Receivable: customer master files; invoices; payments
3. Accounts Payable: supplier master file; invoices; payments
4. Fixed Assets: asset master files; depreciation and revaluation
5. Inventory: product master files; movements

If you need to complete SAF-T submissions, our VAT Filer can accurately populate any country submission with verified VAT or GST data from our VAT Calculator or VAT Auditor services.

Standard Audit File for Tax SAF-T countries