Cryptoasset service providers must now inform tax authorities about users in Portugal

Cryptocurrency service providers are now required to comply with a mandatory reporting regime for information about users residing in Portugal, with the annual submission of reports to the tax authorities regarding cryptocurrency exchange and transfer transactions.

This measure results from the transposition of a directive – the so-called DAC8 – into national legislation, and fines for non-compliance can reach €22,000. The possibility of revoking the operator’s registration or, ultimately, ceasing their activity in the European Union is also foreseen.

The draft legislation had already been sent by the government to parliament, and the objective is for the new regime to take effect from January 1, 2026, as foreseen in the directive, which Portugal should have been transposed by December 31 of last year.

In the meantime, it has been the subject of an infringement procedure. This retroactive application will mean that the first report, relating to the current year, must be submitted by May 31, 2027, explains Beatriz Geraldes, “crypto project manager” at PwC to the online business daily Negócios.

DAC8, it should be recalled, aims to combat fraud and tax evasion at the EU level through a revision of the cooperation framework between authorities that broadens the scope of the automatic exchange of information, now including the aforementioned crypto-asset service providers, which, given their decentralized nature, are generally difficult to control and monitor.

These service providers will therefore have to collect and send information to the tax authorities about users who are resident in Portugal or who have controlling persons who are resident in Portugal, and about the transactions carried out by these users. These transactions range from exchanges between crypto-assets and fiat currency, crypto payments, or transfers to external wallets, among others.

This represents a “significant advance in terms of tax transparency compared to the current framework,” emphasizes the PwC expert.

And, in the Portuguese case, the measure is all the more relevant because, although the tax law already provides for “a specific tax regime for crypto-assets and a reporting obligation on the part of CASPs” (Crypto-Asset Service Providers), “this obligation has never been implemented, leaving the Portuguese Tax Authority without structured information on crypto-asset transactions,” explains Beatriz Geraldes.

In this case, it should be noted that the only exception is the stamp duty levied on commissions, but now “the new regime will finally allow this gap to be filled”.

Source: Negócios; Credits: RTP Archives.