The Portuguese tax authorities are preparing the automatic refund of the IUC of certain imported vehicles. Following the court ruling on the irregularity of the calculation of the IUC for cars dating before 2007 and imported into Portugal thereafter, the Portuguese fiscc opens a refund of the overpayment which potentially concerns 130,000 taxpayers. How to recover the IUC ? How do you know if you are affected by the reimbursement of this tax ? Lisbob, the expatriate assistant in Portugal, tells you all about the reimbursement of the IUC.
Article translated from Jornaldenegocios.pt
How to get refunded of the overpaid IUC tax for a car imported into Portugal ?
Finanças portal will now have a new feature that will, in a simplified way, restore owners of imported used cars the IUC they have overpaid in the past four years. The idea, announced by a note published on the website of the Portuguese tax administration, is that when taxpayers settle the IUC via the financial portal during this year 2020, they will be able to access this functionality. reimbursement by entering the date of the first registration of their vehicle in a country of the European Union.
With this information - subject to verification by the AT - the system will automatically recalculate the IUC for the year 2020, then assess whether there is an overpayment and take the necessary steps to reimburse it.
In question, it will be recalled, the fact that the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) declared the IUC regulations for used cars imported before 2007 illegal, considering that Portuguese law violated European treaties. At issue, the fact that the Portuguese tax authorities did not take into account the fact that the imported used cars had already been registered for the first time in the country of origin. Basically, when the car arrived in Portugal, it was treated as if it were registered for the first time, i.e. as if it were new, regardless of its actual age for the purpose of calculating the tax, effectively increasing the amount collected.
The law has now been amended and the new rules will apply to the IUC from 2020. On the other hand, the tax administration recognized that there was an irregularity compared to previous years and decided to abandon the legal proceedings on this subject and, on the other hand, to grant any free complaint, hierarchical appeal or unofficial review being processed in the services.
It remained to be seen how it would be possible to refund the excess tax paid by car owners without having to follow the usual procedures which, with the usual Portuguese bureaucratic slowness, can take several months.
IUC tax is a polemic topic between Brussels and Lisbon
Former owners will be compensated
This new feature, which is still in the works, is the way that the Portuguese tax authorities have found to automate the reimbursement of the overpaid IUC. However, these will not be immediate, as the regulations of the IUC depend on the month of registration, that is to say that the owners of a car registered in October or December, for example, will have to wait until the end. of the year to receive the overpaid tax, as well as the respective compensatory interest.
The alternative, for those who prefer to receive reimbursement now rather than wait for the month of liquidation of the IUC, would be to file a request for review.
According to the Público newspaper, there are around 130,000 second-hand vehicles imported into Portugal whose owners can be reimbursed and compensated for the tax overpaid. However, the Portuguese tax authorities do not confirm the figures and do not communicate the amount of IUC revenue which could be affected.
It was not until 2018, and with a change then introduced, that the Portuguese tax authorities were able to have more complete data on the dates of previous registrations of imported vehicles. Until then, the information in the register is that of the first registration, of course, but without indication whether it occurred in an EU country or in a third country. And it is only for countries whose first registration comes from an EU country that the tax refund will apply.
Questions and answers about IUC tax refund
What types of vehicles are potentially covered by the reimbursement from the IUC ?
• Passenger cars (ie cars weighing up to 3,500 kg and not exceeding nine seats, including the driver's seat, intended for the carriage of passengers) ;
• Passenger cars weighing more than 3,500 kg and not exceeding nine seats, including the driver's seat ;
• Multipurpose cars whose gross weight does not exceed 2,500 kg
Which vehicles are affected by the reimbursement ?
The right of return is subject to vehicles imported or admitted to Portugal after July 1, 2007 and registered for the first time in a Member State of the European Union or of the European Economic Area before this date.
How can owners automatically update their vehicle registration ?
When the IUC 2020 is liquidated, functionality will be made available on the Finanças portal to confirm the date of first registration in the European Union or the European Economic Area. After that, the system will recalculate the tax payable by 2020 and check if there is a tax refund for previous years. The amount to be received will be communicated later to the owner.
What if the overpaid tax concerns a vehicle that you no longer own ?
The tax authorities will verify who the owners were in the previous four years and return them directly to these taxpayers.
Why are only four years reimbursed ?
Because this is the deadline provided by Portuguese law for the revision of tax laws.
For cars registered in January or February, what if the function is not yet available when IUC pays?
In this case, taxpayers can submit this information to the Portuguese tax authorities via the Finanças portal, which will update the vehicle register for all legal purposes. In e-Balcão, taxpayers must choose the option "Register a new question" and on the next page under "Imposto or area" choose "IMT / IS / IUC", under "Question type" choose "IUC" and for "Question" choose "Other". In the "Subject" field, it is recommended to indicate "Data da primeira matrícula UE" for better identification of the problem.
What happens if the owner does not want to wait until the IUC settlement month to claim the overpaid tax?
In this case, you must file a request for review, under the conditions provided by law, pending the decision which will, of course, be granted.
