Portugal plans overhaul of business licensing rules

Portugal’s government is preparing a broad overhaul of business licensing rules, with a new code for the licensing of economic activities due to go to public consultation in the autumn, Economy and Territorial Cohesion Minister Manuel Castro Almeida said on Tuesday. The move matters for companies and investors because it is intended to reduce delays, paperwork and uncertainty when starting or expanding business activity in Portugal.

Speaking at the close of the “Economy without Borders” conference, Castro Almeida said the government wants to replace scattered legislation with a single code. He said prior inspections would become exceptional, while the general rule would be a simple notification of the intention to start an activity, backed by a declaration signed by a responsible technician.

In comments to ECO on the sidelines of the event, the minister said the aim is to keep inspections to a minimum and shift oversight to after a business has started operating. He said the change would apply both to new establishments and to businesses already in operation, arguing that many current procedures requiring prior inspection “make no sense”.

Castro Almeida said the government’s priority is to deliver “much faster and more flexible licensing”, with binding deadlines, tacit approvals and interoperability between the information systems of different public services. He also said the change would not require more resources, arguing that staff now reviewing paperwork could instead carry out on-site checks.

The minister also said the government plans to launch Banco de Fomento’s fund-of-funds in the autumn, to continue the experience of the Recovery and Resilience Plan’s Capitalisation and Resilience Fund by mobilising private capital and supporting companies with scale-up potential.

Originally published at Eco.pt