Joaquim Pedro Lampreia, Tax practice partner, comments in Jornal de Negócios newspaper on interest to be paid by the Portuguese tax authorities on delayed taxpayer refunds.

The VdA partner clarified that, following a recent judgement of the Supreme Administrative Court (STA), the Portuguese Tax Authority will be required to pay high levels of interest to taxpayers, possibly reaching 14%, in the event of delays in the refund of taxes annulled by the court. This, because the STA has now ruled, in contrast with prior legal decisions, that two different types of interest can be accumulated in favour of taxpayers, thus punishing the aforementioned delay verified in the refund of court annulled taxes.

According to Joaquim Pedro Lampreia, these high interest rates are clearly meant as a “punishment”, seeing as the deadline for the refund of taxes paid in excess is “practically never met” by the Portuguese Tax Authority.