Chapter V · Charging and payment of the tax · Section III · Other obligations of taxable persons

Article 52 Period for filing and keeping records and supporting documents

Artigo 52.º · Prazo de arquivo e conservação dos registos e documentos de suporte

Código do Imposto sobre o Valor Acrescentado · republished by Decree-Law No. 102/2008 · consolidated text checked 26 October 2026

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1. Taxable persons shall file and keep in good order, for the following 10 calendar years, all records and their supporting documents, including, where the accounts are kept by computerised means, those relating to the analysis, programming and execution of the processing.

1 - Os sujeitos passivos são obrigados a arquivar e conservar em boa ordem durante os 10 anos civis subsequentes todos os registos e respetivos documentos de suporte, incluindo, quando a contabilidade é estabelecida por meios informáticos, os relativos à análise, programação e execução dos tratamentos.

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2. For the records provided for in Article 51 and the related documents, the 10-year period referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be counted from the date on which the last of the adjustments provided for in Articles 24 and 25 is made.

2 - Para os registos previstos no artigo 51.º e documentos anexos, o prazo de 10 anos referido no número anterior deve ser contado a partir da data em que for efetuada a última das regularizações previstas nos artigos 24.º e 25.º

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3. The rules governing the filing of records and supporting documents are laid down in special legislation.

3 - A regulamentação do arquivo dos registos e documentos de suporte consta de legislação especial.

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4. (Repealed.)

4 - (Revogado.)

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5. (Repealed.)

5 - (Revogado.)

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6. (Repealed.)

6 - (Revogado.)

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7. (Repealed.)

7 - (Revogado.)

What we checked in this article

The 10-calendar-year retention period, its start for capital goods records from the last adjustment under Articles 24 and 25, and the inclusion of computerised accounting documentation 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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