Chapter XIII · Liquidation of the company

Article 156 Distribution of the remaining assets

Artigo 156.º · Partilha do activo restante

Código das Sociedades Comerciais · Decree-Law No. 262/86 · consolidated text checked 26 October 2026

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1. The remaining assets, once the rights of the company’s creditors have been satisfied or safeguarded under Article 154, may be distributed in kind if the articles of association so provide or if the members unanimously so resolve.

1 - O activo restante, depois de satisfeitos ou acautelados, nos termos do artigo 154.º, os direitos dos credores da sociedade, pode ser partilhado em espécie, se assim estiver previsto no contrato ou se os sócios unanimemente o deliberarem.

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2. The remaining assets are applied first to repaying the amount of the contributions actually made; that amount is the fraction of capital corresponding to each member, without prejudice to any provision of the articles of association for the case where the assets with which the member made the contribution have a value higher than that nominal fraction.

2 - O activo restante é destinado em primeiro lugar ao reembolso do montante das entradas efectivamente realizadas; esse montante é a fracção de capital correspondente a cada sócio, sem prejuízo do que dispuser o contrato para o caso de os bens com que o sócio realizou a entrada terem valor superior àquela fracção nominal.

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3. If full repayment cannot be made, the existing assets are distributed among the members in such a way that the shortfall falls on each of them in proportion to their share in the company’s losses; for that purpose, account must be taken of the portion of the contributions owed by the members.

3 - Se não puder ser feito o reembolso integral, o activo existente é distribuído pelos sócios, por forma que a diferença para menos recaia em cada um deles na proporção da parte que lhe competir nas perdas da sociedade; para esse efeito, haverá que ter em conta a parte das entradas devida pelos sócios.

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4. If a balance remains after full repayment, it must be divided in the proportion applicable to the distribution of profits.

4 - Se depois de feito o reembolso integral se registar saldo, este deve ser repartido na proporção aplicável à distribuição de lucros.

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5. The liquidators may exclude from the distribution the amounts estimated for liquidation expenses until the company’s extinction.

5 - Os liquidatários podem excluir da partilha as importâncias estimadas para encargos da liquidação até à extinção da sociedade.

What we checked in this article

Distribution in kind only if the articles so provide or the members resolve unanimously, the order of application (repayment of contributions actually made, then any surplus in the profit-sharing proportion), loss-sharing of any shortfall and the liquidators' power to retain amounts for expenses are retained.

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Unofficial English translation prepared by BCA Portugal for reference. Only the Portuguese text published in the Diário da República has legal force. Editorial notes are ours and are not part of the statute.

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