Managing Electronic Documents in Portugal
As a customer in Portugal, you can receive electronic documents directly into Continia Document Capture via email attachments.
In Portugal, as in the rest of the EU, electronic invoicing is mandatory for transactions between suppliers and public administrations. However, there is no legal requirement for its use in business-to-business (B2B) transactions, making it entirely optional for the private sector.
The Portal FE-AP serves as a portal for the exchange of electronic invoices, but Portugal's electronic invoicing system is decentralized. This means that the Portal FE-AP is just one available option for managing electronic documents. Alternatively, files can be exchanged through web services or AS2 if a system supports it.
Portugal has designated the following formats for electronic invoicing:
- UBL2.1 CIUS-PT
- CEFACT CIUS-PT
Until December 31st, 2023, electronic invoices in PDF format were accepted as valid in Portugal.
The table below outlines the current regulatory states and future outlooks for B2G, B2B, and B2C (business-to-consumer) sectors.
| Transaction Type | Current Regulatory State | Regulatory Outlook |
|---|---|---|
| B2G | Electronic invoicing has been mandatory since 2018.  Supported by Document Capture.1 | No changes are expected. |
| B2B | No legislation is in place. Parties must agree on the method and format. Supported by Document Capture.1 Supported by Document Output.2 | From January 2025, PDF files sent via B2B must have a QES digital signature to be considered valid. |
| B2C | No legislation is in place. | From January 2025, PDF files sent via B2C must have a QES digital signature to be considered valid. |
- UBL format can be received by email and imported to Document Capture.
- Peppol eDelivery Network and Peppol BIS 3.0 is supported.