PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: João Nóbrega, Bernardo Marques and Francisco Miguel Gomes, EY Law – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, S.A.
rates. Non-resident investors without a permanent establishment in Portugal are exempt from Portu - guese taxation, provided that they are not resident in a tax-haven jurisdiction. Tax-exempt entities (eg, pension funds) are also exempt on income and gains derived from these funds. Overall, the Portuguese regime offers a competitive tax framework for non-resident and institutional inves - tors in private-equity and credit AIFs, while maintain - ing ordinary taxation for domestic investors in real estate funds. 4.9 Double Tax Treaties Portuguese AIFs may access double tax treaty ben - efits depending on their legal form and tax status. AIFs structured as SICs are subject to Portuguese corporate income tax and generally qualify as resident taxpayers, enabling them to claim treaty relief, subject to the relevant anti-abuse provisions. Conversely, contractual AIFs are not regarded as resi - dents for treaty purposes and therefore cannot claim treaty benefits directly. In such cases, investors – not the fund – may benefit from treaty or domestic relief in their own jurisdictions. Eligibility for treaty protection is ultimately determined case by case, based on the fund’s structure and the wording of each applicable treaty. 4.10 Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)/Common Reporting Standard (CRS) Compliance Regime Portugal implemented both the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the OECD Common Reporting Standard (CRS) through domestic legisla - tion and operates under a reciprocal Model 1 intergov - ernmental agreement with the United States, effective since 2016. Under both regimes, Portuguese financial institutions – including AIFs and AIFMs qualifying as “investment entities” – must identify, document and report infor - mation on reportable accounts to the Portuguese Tax Authority (AT), which exchanges the data with the IRS
(for FATCA) and other participating jurisdictions (for CRS). Compliance obligations include investor due dili - gence, collection of self-certifications, and annual electronic reporting to the AT. Failure to comply may lead to administrative fines, penalties and reputational exposure, as the AT actively supervises adherence to automatic-exchange regimes. 4.11 Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) Regime Portugal maintains a robust AML and CTF framework aligned with the EU AML Directives. This regime is pri - marily outlined in Law No. 83/2017, as amended, and is complemented by CMVM Regulation No. 2/2020 and relevant provisions of the RGA. AIFMs are expressly designated as obliged entities and must implement comprehensive KYC and moni - toring procedures. Key requirements include: • Customer Due Diligence: Verification of the iden - tity of investors and beneficial owners, along with a risk assessment, before establishing business relationships or executing transactions above legal thresholds. • Ongoing Monitoring: Continuous review of trans - actions and updating of investor information to ensure consistency with the risk profile. • Suspicious Transaction Reporting: Immediate noti - fication to the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) and the CMVM of any suspicious activities. • Record Keeping: Retention of identification and transaction records for a minimum of seven years. • Internal Governance: Appointment of an AML com - pliance officer responsible for internal controls and for filing the annual AML report with the CMVM. The CMVM actively supervises AML compliance and may impose administrative sanctions on AIFMs that fail to meet legal or reporting obligations. 4.12 Data Security and Privacy for Investors Data protection in Portugal is governed by the GDPR and its national implementation under Law No. 58/2019. AIFMs are considered data controllers when
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