Chapter III · Determination of the taxable amount · Section II · Resident legal persons and other entities whose main activity is commercial, industrial or agricultural · Subsection V · Other charges

Article 42 Reconstitution of deposits

Artigo 42.º · Reconstituição de jazidas

Código do Imposto sobre o Rendimento das Pessoas Coletivas · republished by Law No. 2/2014 · consolidated text checked 26 October 2026

#

1. Taxpayers engaged in the petroleum extraction industry may deduct, for the purpose of determining taxable profit, the lower of the following amounts, provided that it is invested in prospecting or exploration for petroleum in Portuguese territory within the following three tax periods:

1 - Os sujeitos passivos que exerçam a indústria extrativa de petróleo podem deduzir, para efeitos da determinação do lucro tributável, o menor dos seguintes valores, desde que seja investido em prospeção ou pesquisa de petróleo em território português dentro dos três períodos de tributação seguintes:

#

a) 30% of the gross value of the sales of petroleum produced in the concession areas made in the tax period to which the deduction relates;

a) 30 % do valor bruto das vendas do petróleo produzido nas áreas de concessão efetuadas no período de tributação a que respeita a dedução;

#

b) 45% of the taxable amount that would be determined without taking this deduction into account.

b) 45 % da matéria coletável que se apuraria sem consideração desta dedução.

#

2. Where the requirements set out in paragraph 1 have not been met, a tax adjustment must be made to the net profit for the tax period in which the non-compliance occurred.

2 - No caso de não se terem verificado os requisitos enunciados no n.º 1, deve efetuar-se a correção fiscal ao resultado líquido do período de tributação em que se verificou o incumprimento.

#

3. The deduction referred to in paragraph 1 is conditional on profits not being distributed in an amount equivalent to the amount not yet invested as provided therein.

3 - A dedução referida no n.º 1 fica condicionada à não distribuição de lucros por um montante equivalente ao valor ainda não investido nos termos aí previstos.

What we checked in this article

The lower-of test (30% of gross sales or 45% of the taxable amount), the three-tax-period reinvestment window in Portuguese territory, the adjustment in the period of non-compliance and the bar on distributing profits equal to the uninvested amount are retained.

Does Article 42 affect your company’s tax bill?

We prepare IRC returns, check participation-exemption, transfer-pricing and interest-limitation positions, and structure Portuguese holdings and branches, in English. A written answer and a fixed quote within one working day.

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.

Applying the law

Portuguese corporate tax, applied to your numbers

The Code sets the rules; the rate you actually pay depends on your structure, your region, the surcharges and the reliefs you claim. Send us your figures and we will model the IRC position before you commit.

Get a quote