The President of the Portuguese Order of Certified Accountants (OCC) advocated for tax incentives to be granted to those who meet payment deadlines, highlighting punctuality as crucial for improving business productivity and sustainability.
“The numbers are far from desirable. Much still needs to change. I argue that measures should be taken, for example, those who make payments on time should receive tax incentives, contributing to behavioral changes,” stated Paula Franco last week at the Santander Bank auditorium in Lisbon during the ‘Prompt Payment Commitment’ conference focused on ‘The Impact of Paying on Time’.
In her view, “timely payments are among the factors that most enhance productivity and sustainability for businesses”.
Paula Franco emphasized that “a lack of internal organization within companies sometimes weighs more than cash flow issues”.
“There’s an urgent need to change the mindset, pay as soon as possible, and not wait until the last day a bill is due,” she added.
The President of the Order of Accountants, Paula Franco, remarked today that the announced reduction in IRS rates is “necessary” and “positive”, mainly benefiting the middle class, which “bears most” of the income tax burden.
Lusa | 13:42 – 26/06/2025
She highlighted the collaborative platform TOConline, which “thanks to system integration, provides timely information to entrepreneurs, alerting them to any delays in payments”.
A statement from the OCC disclosed that during the same conference, a study from Informa D&B Portugal on payments in Portugal and Europe for 2025 was presented: “In May of this year, only 20% of companies in Portugal adhered to agreed payment terms with suppliers. Essentially, only 20 out of every 100 companies in Portugal pay on time, meaning 80 out of 100 do not comply”.
Only one in five Portuguese companies meets payment deadlines, according to a study by Informa D&B released today, which further concludes that Portugal is increasingly lagging behind the European average in this area.
Lusa | 15:09 – 04/07/2025
The issue is widespread across all sectors and regions. By size, the problem is more significant among large companies, as only 4% meet payment deadlines.
“Our country ranks among the five with the worst performance, increasingly distancing itself from the European average,” according to the research, presented in general terms by Augusto Castelo Branco, which in its 11th edition covered more than 300 companies, as noted by the OCC.
The ‘Prompt Payment Commitment’ initiative is promoted by ACEGE (Christian Association of Businesspeople and Managers), CIP (Business Confederation of Portugal), OCC (Order of Certified Accountants), IAPMEI (Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation), and APIFARMA (Portuguese Pharmaceutical Industry Association). The OCC joined this initiative in February 2020.
