Although you use online platforms (websites or marketplaces) to sell products or services, your business must fully comply with the terms of the online sales legislation in Portugal and Europe.
In addition to this specific e-commerce legislation, there are also rules that apply to any business, such as the invoicing regime. Sometimes these rules are easily forgotten or overlooked in online shops, but even though the channel is digital, the penalties are very real and can, depending on the law broken, be up to 50,000 euros.
To ensure that these fines never come knocking on your door, follow the brief guide to e-commerce legislation in force in Portugal and Europe that we've created for you.
Online sales: Legislation in force in Portugal and Europe
Did you know that if your online shop doesn't display the discount percentage or the previous price on sale/promotion products, it can be penalised with fines of up to 30,000 euros?
This is just one of the many rules contained in Internet sales legislation that your business will have to comply with, otherwise the ASAE (Food and Economic Safety Authority), AT (Tax Authority) or other responsible authorities will impose heavy fines.
We begin our guide with the information that your online shop should present to the consumer.
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Identification and general information
In this area, your online shop must display complete company/seller identification details, including:
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- Name or company name;
- Geographical address and e-mail address;
- Commercial register;
- Tax identification number.
The designated alternative dispute resolution (ADR) body and its website must also be presented. Its address and telephone contact details may also be included.
If the company's activity is subject to prior authorisation, information must be submitted on the entity that authorised the activity.
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Shipping and payments
Any geographical (or other) restrictions on delivery, as well as on the means of online payment accepted must be communicated to the consumer at the latest at the start of the ordering process.
Any additional costs must be indicated before purchasing the products/services.
In order for situations of payment methods pass you by, REDUNIQ offers Portuguese online businesses the solution REDUNIQ E-Commerce which, in addition to allowing the site to receive online payments with Visa and Mastercard debit and credit cards from all over the world, has no membership costs or monthly fees.
On this tour comparison of online payment methods REDUNIQ is also responsible for REDUNIQ@Payments. Aimed at online businesses that sell with or without a website (marketplaces, for example), REDUNIQ@Payments is a solution that will allow you to receive online payments by e-mail, SMS, WhatsApp, Visa and Mastercard, Multibanco reference or MB WAY.
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Returns and refunds
Without incurring any costs, the consumer has the right to return the product (cancel the contract) within a maximum of 14 days. This period does not apply to personalised products, sealed audio or video recordings and sealed software from which the consumer has removed the tamper-evident seal after delivery.
The refund (including delivery costs) must be made within 14 days via the same payment method used by the consumer. If the consumer requests a different delivery method, the online shop will not be obliged to reimburse any additional delivery costs.
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Prices and price reductions (sales, promotions and liquidations)
Before making a purchase, the consumer must have access to the total price of the products, including any duties, taxes, transport costs or other charges.
When the online shop makes a price reduction on its products, it will have to provide the following information:
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- Type of sale (sales, promotions or liquidation);
- Type of products;
- Percentage reduction;
- Start date and duration.
It is also compulsory for price reductions to fall into one of the following categories:
- a) Sales - the sale of products at a price lower than the lowest price previously charged, with the aim of speeding up the disposal of existing products;
- b) Promotions - sales promoted at a lower price or with more advantageous conditions, with a view to boosting the sale of products or the launch of a product not previously commercialised, as well as the development of commercial activity, not carried out at the same time as a sale;
- c) Liquidation - the sale of products of an exceptional nature intended for the accelerated disposal with a price reduction of all or part of the establishment's stock, resulting from the occurrence of reasons that determine the interruption of sales or activity in the establishment.
It is forbidden to use other expressions, even if they are similar, to advertise sales with price reductions (e.g. "opportunities").
Sales can take place at any time of the year, as long as they do not exceed 124 days per year (about four months) and must be notified to ASAE at least five working days in advance, with the following information:
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- Identification and address of the trader or address of the establishment;
- Tax identification number;
- Indication of the start and end date of the balance period in question.
Like sales, promotions can be held at any time of the year, but never at the same time as sales.
The percentage price reduction advertised (-30%, -50%, etc.) must be in relation to the lowest price at which the product was sold in the 90 days prior to the day on which it goes on sale or promotion, with the exception of any sales and promotions that have taken place during this period.
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Communication
In order for an online shop to send unsolicited communications (e-mail marketing, for example) to the consumer, the latter must give their explicit prior consent.
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Invoicing
The invoice must be issued immediately after payment for an online purchase and must be sent in digital format with an electronic signature.
When transactions with other countries (inflows and outflows) exceed one hundred thousand euros per year, they must be reported to the Bank of Portugal.
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