PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Bárbara Marinho e Pinto, João Diogo Melo, Lua Mota Santos and Amanda Bueno Almeida, Rogério Alves & Associados
for the imposition of significant administrative fines and, in cases of non-compliance with certain binding orders or determinations, classifies such conduct as the offence of aggravated disobedience. 3.5 Tax Evasion and Financial Reporting The principal criminal offences relating to tax eva - sion in Portugal are set out in the General Regime of Tax Offences ( Regime Geral das Infrações Tribu- tárias – RGIT). Core offences include tax fraud and aggravated tax fraud, which encompass, inter alia, the concealment or falsification of facts or values that should be reflected in accounting records or tax returns, the omission of relevant facts and the use of sham transactions aimed at avoiding the payment of tax or obtaining undue tax advantages or refunds. Simple tax fraud is punishable by imprisonment of up to three years or a fine, while significantly higher pen - alties apply – reaching up to eight years – where quali - fying circumstances and higher amounts are involved. Another key offence is breach of trust in respect of tax ( abuso de confiança fiscal ), which penalises the failure to remit to the tax authorities amounts of tax with - held or collected (such as VAT or withholding taxes) exceeding EUR 7,500, after the applicable grace peri - ods have elapsed. The manipulation of accounting records will often, in itself, constitute tax fraud (for example, through the concealment or alteration of facts or values that should be recorded) and may also amount to the offence of document forgery where documents, including accounting records, are created or altered with intent to harm the state or to obtain an unlawful benefit. 3.6 Cartels and Anti-Competitive Offences Cartel conduct and other competition law infringe - ments are generally treated as administrative offenc - es rather than criminal offences. The main framework is set out in Law No 19/2012 (the Competition Act), which prohibits anti-competitive agreements such as price-fixing, market sharing, output limitation and bid rigging, as well as abuses of a dominant position. These infringements are investigated and sanctioned by the Portuguese Competition Authority ( Autoridade
da Concorrência ), which may impose fines of up to 10% of the undertaking’s annual turnover. Individuals, including directors and managers, may also be fined and may face additional sanctions, such as disquali - fication from management roles. Although cartel conduct is not in itself a criminal offence, the same facts may give rise to criminal liability where they overlap with offences under the Penal Code, such as corruption, fraud or falsification of accounts. 3.7 Counterfeiting Criminal offences relating to counterfeiting and infringement of intellectual property rights are express - ly provided for in the Industrial Property Code. These include the crimes of trade mark counterfeiting, imita - tion or unlawful use of a registered trade mark, as well as the manufacture, distribution or commercialisation of counterfeit goods (Articles 318 to 329 of the Indus - trial Property Code). These offences are punishable by imprisonment (gen - erally up to three years) or a fine, depending on the cir - cumstances, and penalties may be aggravated where the conduct is carried out on a commercial scale or within an organised structure. Courts may also order the seizure and destruction of infringing goods. In addition, the same conduct may, in certain cases, also constitute general criminal offences under the Penal Code, such as fraud, and may give rise to civil liability, including damages and injunctive relief. 3.8 Greenwashing and Environmental Pollution Violations Portuguese law recognises environmental pollution as both a criminal and administrative offence. The Penal Code expressly provides for several environmental crimes, including Article 278 (damage to nature), Arti - cle 279 (pollution) and Article 279-A (dangerous activi - ties to the environment), such as the unlawful handling of hazardous substances or waste. These offences may be punishable by imprisonment and fines, with more severe penalties in aggravated cases, and legal persons may also be held criminally liable.
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