Chapter II · Duties and rights of shareholders · Section I · Obligation to contribute

Article 286 Liability of previous holders

Artigo 286.º · Responsabilidade dos antecessores

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

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1. All those who preceded the defaulting shareholder as holders of a share are liable, jointly and severally among themselves and with that shareholder, for the amounts owed and the interest on them as at the date on which the share is forfeited to the company.

1 - Todos aqueles que antecederem na titularidade de uma acção o accionista em mora são responsáveis, solidariamente entre si e com aquele accionista, pelas importâncias em dívida e respectivos juros, à data da perda da acção a favor da sociedade.

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2. Once the forfeiture of the share to the company has been announced, those previous holders whose liability has not become time-barred shall be notified by registered letter that they may acquire the share by paying the amount owed and the interest within a period of not less than three months. The notification shall be repeated during the second of those months.

2 - Depois de anunciada a perda da acção a favor da sociedade, os referidos antecessores cuja responsabilidade não esteja prescrita serão notificados, por carta registada, de que podem adquirir a acção mediante o pagamento da importância em dívida e dos juros, em prazo não inferior a três meses. A notificação será repetida durante o segundo desses meses.

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3. If more than one previous holder comes forward to acquire the share, priority is determined by order of proximity to the last holder.

3 - Apresentando-se mais de um antecessor para adquirir a acção, atender-se-á à ordem da sua proximidade relativamente ao último titular.

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4. If the amount owed and the interest are not paid by any of the previous holders, the company must, with the utmost urgency, sell the share through a broker, on the Stock Exchange or at public auction.

4 - Não sendo a importância em dívida e os juros satisfeitos por nenhum dos antecessores, a sociedade deve proceder com a maior urgência à venda da acção, por intermédio de corretor, em Bolsa ou em hasta pública.

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5. If the sale price is insufficient to cover the amount owed, the interest and the expenses incurred, the company must claim the difference from the last holder and from each of the previous holders; if the price obtained exceeds that amount, the excess belongs to the last holder.

5 - Não bastando o preço da venda para cobrir a importância da dívida, juros e despesas efectuadas, a sociedade deve exigir a diferença ao último titular e a cada um dos seus antecessores; se o preço obtido exceder aquela importância, o excesso pertencerá ao último titular.

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6. The company shall take each of the measures permitted by law or by the articles of association simultaneously for all the shares of the same shareholder in respect of which the default occurs.

6 - A sociedade tomará cada uma das providências permitidas por lei ou pelo contrato simultaneamente para todas as acções do mesmo accionista em relação às quais a mora se verifique.

What we checked in this article

Joint and several liability of previous holders, the offer to them with a period of not less than three months and a repeated notice, priority by proximity to the last holder, sale through a broker, on the Stock Exchange or at public auction, and allocation of any shortfall or surplus 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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