Debt collection · Portugal

🇵🇹 Your customer in Portugal is not paying?

Goods delivered, invoice overdue, the customer in Portugal silent. This page explains how a B2B claim is collected in Portugal, how long it takes, and which interest and costs can be charged to the debtor. Incasso Mentor sets up and runs this process on your behalf: we choose the right route, bring in the local specialist, follow every step and report to you in Turkish. You only take the decisions. Information as at September 2026.

Portugal at a glance

The four figures that matter most to a Turkish exporter. Fees and rates change; before any legal step we confirm the current figures with our partner.

Injunção
Order-for-payment procedure; no value ceiling for B2B claims. Electronic filing with the Balcão Nacional de Injunções, 15 days for the debtor. No opposition: directly enforceable title (fórmula executória).
10.40%
B2B commercial default interest (2nd half of 2026, Aviso 16623/2026/2): ECB rate + 8 points. Runs from the due date without a demand; the rate is republished every six months.
€5,000
Jurisdiction threshold (alçada) of the first-instance court. Above this amount a lawyer is mandatory in court proceedings; the same limit applies to filing the injunção.
20 years
General limitation for claims between companies (Código Civil art. 309). Interest is time-barred after 5 years (art. 310). Only service through the court interrupts the period; a demand letter does not.
Process

How collection in Portugal proceeds

Amicable phase

Portuguese-language demand; interest and the minimum €40 flat recovery fee (Decreto-Lei 62/2013 art. 7) are claimed, a payment plan is discussed. Higher documented costs can also be claimed.

Injunção

Electronic filing with the Balcão Nacional de Injunções (Porto); court fee €153 for claims above €15,000. The debtor is served by registered post and has 15 days to pay, oppose (oposição) or stay silent. Silence produces an enforceable title.

Court action if opposed

For claims above €15,000 the file is sent to the competent court and continues as ordinary proceedings (processo comum); a lawyer is mandatory. Court fee by claim value: 4–9 UC (€408–918) between €20,000 and €100,000, less the injunção fee already paid. Typically longer than a year.

Enforcement and insolvency

With the injunção or judgment, the agente de execução chosen by the creditor proceeds directly to attachment (CPC arts. 550 and 703 ff.): bank accounts, receivables, vehicles, real estate, electronic sale. Insolvency and restructuring under the CIRE; enforcement is stayed during a PER (processo especial de revitalização).

Our role

We organise your collection in Portugal

Collecting a debt in a foreign country on your own is exhausting: language, law, finding the right firm, negotiating fees, not missing deadlines. This is exactly where Incasso Mentor comes in. We review your file, obtain an independent credit report on the debtor and determine the most suitable route for Portugal.

Then we set up the process: we select the lawyer or agente de execução in Portugal, hand over a complete and well-prepared file, fix the fee on your behalf in advance and follow every step. You work with one contact, in your own language. Every decision is yours; no step is taken without your approval.

What you do, what we do
✓

You: send us the invoice, contract and delivery documents.

✓

We: assess the file, obtain the credit report and report the route and cost to you in writing.

✓

We: select and brief the local specialist in Portugal, fix the fee and watch the deadlines.

✓

We: report every development in Turkish and answer your questions.

✓

You: take the decision at every stage. Legal steps only with your approval.

Three points that matter for a Turkish exporter

No ceiling on the injunção for B2B claims

The general limit is €15,000, but for commercial claims between companies the injunção is open at any amount (Decreto-Lei 62/2013 art. 10). For files of €20,000 and more an opposition turns the case into ordinary proceedings; we therefore plan with a lawyer from the start and obtain a fixed quote.

Long limitation, but 5 years for interest

The 20-year limitation on the principal is among the longest in Europe. Interest is time-barred after 5 years, and only service through the court interrupts the period; service of the injunção has that effect (Decreto-Lei 269/98 art. 13). A demand letter does not.

EU procedures closed

The European order for payment and small claims are closed to Turkish companies; the national injunção is fast and cheap anyway. A Portuguese judgment is enforced in the EU under Brussels I-bis without extra formalities.

Frequently asked questions

How long does collection in Portugal take?

Unopposed injunção: service plus 15 days to oppose, usually 2–3 months including the enforceable title. If opposed, ordinary proceedings follow; that stage mostly exceeds a year. The enforcement timeline depends on the debtor's assets.

Do I need a lawyer?

Not up to €5,000; above that yes (CPC art. 40, alçada of €5,000). At the enforcement stage the agente de execução carries out the acts; for files above €20,000 a lawyer is involved from the start.

What is the judgment worth in Turkey?

A Portuguese judgment or enforceable title is enforced in the EU without extra formalities; in Turkey recognition (tenfiz) is needed, rarely relevant since the debtor's assets are usually in Portugal.

Incasso Mentor is not a law firm. We coordinate the amicable phase; where a legal step is needed, an authorised lawyer or agente de execução in Portugal acts with your approval. This page is general information, not legal advice. Source legislation: Código Civil (arts. 309, 310, 323), Código Comercial (art. 102), Decreto-Lei 62/2013, Decreto-Lei 269/98, Código de Processo Civil (arts. 40, 550, 703), Lei 62/2013 (art. 44), Regulamento das Custas Processuais, CIRE. Information as at September 2026.

Submit your Portugal claim today

Share your invoice and the basic documents. We review the file and report the route in Portugal and the expected cost to you in writing, in Turkish; the rest we plan together. B2B, from €20,000 per debtor.

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