The presence on the ground has a significant impact on taxpayers, increasing the perception of risks associated with non-compliance. In the pursuit of its strategic objective of Combating Shadow Economy and Tax Fraud and Evasion, the Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority has been launching a set of actions aiming to evaluate the fulfilment of the billing obligations and encouraging voluntary compliance.
In September 2017, the Tax and Customs Authority, through Tax and Customs Inspection, carried out two country-wide audits:
- one in relation to maintenance and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles establishments,
- and the other on traders of perishable goods, such as butchers, fish markets, fruit shops, florists and grocers, in order to control not only their billing obligations but also the documents for the purchase of such products.
In the first action more than 3.600 garages have been controlled with the help of 570 tax inspectors and in result 150 administrative procedures have been initiated. In the second one, around 4.600 establishments have been controlled with the help of 520 tax inspectors and in result 920 procedures have been initiated.
All these taxable persons will be subject to a rigorous monitoring, and subsequent inspection procedures will be carried out in cases where high risks of non-compliance have been detected.
As a way of ensuring a fair distribution of the tax burden, the Tax and Customs Authority will continue to significantly strengthen its presence on the ground, in order to encourage voluntary compliance, discouraging any non-compliance practices. Many similar actions have been developed and are currently underway, and a set of other actions within the same framework, directed to various sectors of activity have already been scheduled.