CHAIR OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

Proposal for Law No. 240 /X/4.

Exhibition of Motives

The national road transport activity of goods has characteristics

specific and assumes relevance in the context of the national economy and the circulation and

territorial distribution of goods, inserting, in the current situation, in a framework in which, on par with

investments required in respect of renewal of the fleets with the fito in a larger

road safety and environmental protection, if financial difficulties are found

advenents of the international conjuncture.

It is a particularly regulated activity in Decree Law No. 239/2003, 4 of

October, and in the Decree-Law No. 257/2007 of July 16, containing rules reaching the

conclusion of the transport contracts, access to the activity, the respective licensing,

to the professional and technical capacity as well as to the protection of the environment.

Through recent diplomas, as is the case with the Decree-Law No. 137/2008 of July 21,

measures have been introduced to promote and foster the renewal of fleets, in

order to contribute to greater environmental protection, energy efficiency and safety

road.

In turn, through the Decree-Law No. 145/2008 of July 28, they were carried out

adjustments to the legal regime of the national road transport contract of

goods, so as to suit it to the recent developments in the international economy and the

increases in the price of oil to which it was coming from watching, seeking to match the

financial difficulties experienced by that relevant sector.

Complementarily with the aforementioned diplomas, in the sense of the tax system as well

contribute to a strengthening of the financial conditions of economic operators of the

sector, either with a view to the realization of the investments that are necessary to the

respective renewal and restructuring, whether attentive to the aggravation of the price of the

2

fuels, aspect that most influences the price of transportation, is justified by adopting

an exceptional measure in relation to the timing of the VAT exigency.

Such an exceptional measure, in the context of the common VAT system laid down in the Directive

n. 2006 /112/CE of the Council of November 28, 2006, shall be rather restricted and

applied to a type of passive subjects or well-delimited sectors.

In the case of the benefits of national road transport services of goods,

on the grounds of regulation in generic terms of the activity, whether in particular by way of the

provisions of Article 4 of the Decree-Law No 239/2003 of October 4, added by the

Decree-Law No. 145/2008 of July 28, which sets a general deadline of 30 days for the

payment of invoices and a sanctionatory regime for the eventual non-compliance of that

deadline or that provided for in the contract, the conditions for the scheme are met

special purpose of the proposed law now presented by the Government is properly

bred and its repercussions duly acaucted.

It has been forwarded to the European Commission the intention of the Government to propose the adoption of the

referred to special arrangements.

Thus:

Under the terms of the paragraph d) of Article 197 (1) of the Constitution, the Government presents to the

Assembly of the Republic the following proposal for a law:

Article 1.

Subject

It is hereby approved in annex to this Act and that it is an integral part of the Special Scheme of

VAT exigency of the National Road Transport Services of Goods.

Article 2.

Option by the general rules of exigency

The taxable persons likely to be covered by the Special Exigibility Regime

of the VAT of the National Road Transport Services of Goods wishing to,

from the date of the entry into force of the said Regime, exercise the option provided for in paragraph 1 of the

your Article 7, shall proceed to the communication provided for it by the end of the following month.

3

Article 3.

Production of effects

This Law produces effects since January 1, 2009.

Seen and approved in Council of Ministers of December 4, 2008

The Prime Minister

The Minister of the Presidency

The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs

4

ANNEX

(referred to in Article 1)

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE VAT DEMAND OF THE SERVICES OF

NATIONAL ROAD TRANSPORT OF GOODS

Article 1.

Scope

1-Are covered by the Special Exigibility Regime of VAT of the Services of

National Road Transport of Goods, hereinafter referred to as the "Regime", the

benefits of national road transport services of goods, such as

defined in the Decree-Law No. 239/2003 of October 4.

2-The present Regime does not apply to the benefits of road transport services

national of goods in respect of which the taxable person and debtor of the tax to the

State to be the recipient of the services.

Article 2.

Moment of exigency

1-The tax on benefits of services referred to in paragraph 1 of the preceding Article shall be

required at the time of the full or partial receipt of the price, by the amount

received.

2-Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the exigency of VAT occurs, the most

later, at the end of the deadline provided for in Article 4 (7) of the Decree-Law

n. 239/2003 of October 4, as amended by Decree-Law No. 145/2008, 28 of

July.

3-The time limit referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be counted from the date of the issuance of the invoice

or equivalent document, or from the date limit for the respective issue, should the

even it has not been fulfilled.

5

4-The tax is still required when the full or partial receipt of the price precedes the

moment of the realization of the taxable operations.

Article 3.

Deduction of tax by the recipients of the services

1-For the purposes of the application of the provisions of Articles 19 and 20 of the VAT Code, the

tax relating to the operations referred to in Article 1 (1) may only be

deducted as long as the taxable person has in his possession the voucher voucher of the

payment, passed in the form set out in this Regime.

2-A deduction of the tax required under this Regime shall be made in the

statement concerning the period of tax in which the receipt of the

receipt voucher of the payment.

Article 4.

Requirements of invoices and receipts

1-The invoices relating to operations covered by Article 1 (1) shall have a series

special and contain the mention "VAT demanded and deductible on payment".

2-At the time of the total or partial payment of the invoices referred to in the preceding paragraph

and in the situations referred to in Article 2 (4), the issuance of receipt by the

amounts received.

3-Do the receipt must appear at the applicable VAT rate and the reference to the invoice to which you respect

the payment, where applicable, considering the tax included, in the

proportion of the amount received, for the purposes of its requirement to the recipient of the

services.

4-A date of issuance of the receipt shall coincide with that of the payment, processing the

even in duplicate and targeting the original to the customer and the copy to the file of the

provider of the services.

5-A The numbering of the documents referred to in this article shall comply with the provisions of the

article 5 of the Decree-Law No 198/90 of June 19.

Article 5.

6

Registration of the operations covered by the Regime

1-For the purposes of the provisions of Article 44 (3) of the VAT Code, the operations

covered by this Scheme shall be registered in such a way as to be evidenced:

a) The value of the transactions referred to in Article 1 (1), net of tax;

b) The value of the tax relating to the operations mentioned in the preceding paragraph, with

distinct relevancy of the amount not yet required.

2-The record of the operations mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be evidenced from

mode to allow the calculation of tax due in each period concerning the

amounts received.

Article 6.

Conservation of invoices and receipts

For the purposes of the provisions of Article 45 of the VAT Code, the invoices and receipts to which

refer to Article 4 are numbered then, in one or more series,

conveniently referenced, and should be conserved in the respective order

duplicates, as well as all copies of those that have been nullified or unutilized,

with the indispensable averbings to the identification of those who have replaced them, if it is

case of this.

Article 7.

Option by the general rules of exigency

1-The taxable persons carrying out the benefits of services covered by paragraph 1 of the

article 1 may opt for the application of the general rules of exigency provided for in the

n. paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 8 of the VAT Code, upon prior communication, by way of

electronic, addressed to the Directorate General of Taxes.

2-A The option by the application of the general rules of exigency shall be maintained by a

minimum period of three years, fining which the taxable person may resume the application

of the present Regime, after electronic communication in this direction directed at the Directorate-

7

General of Taxes.

Article 8.

Subsidiary application

In everything that is not specially provided for in this Regime, it shall apply

subsidally the provisions of the VAT Code.