Annual Accounts Approval – Why Is It Important?

The annual accounts approval is a legal obligation for all Commercial Companies in Portugal. Except for specific exemptions, this obligation must occur once a year, no later than the end of the third month following the end of the fiscal year.

This is the moment when the administrators/managers present the accounts to the shareholders for discussion and approval.

After the accounts are approved, they must be registered, which is done through the submission of the IES (Simplified Business Information).

The IES fulfills, in a single act, several corporate obligations to the Public Administration, including the submission of the annual accounting and tax information declaration to the Tax and Customs Authority, the registration of the accounts with the Commercial Registry Office, the provision of statistical information to INE (Statistics Portugal), and the submission of annual accounting data for statistical purposes to the Bank of Portugal and the Directorate-General for Economic Activities.

The submission of the accounts registration must be completed by the 15th day of the seventh month following the end of the fiscal year, which typically coincides with July 15.

Companies that fail to register their accounts for two consecutive years are subject to administrative dissolution and liquidation proceedings.

Therefore, this obligation is of utmost importance, and its submission is carried out by the company’s Certified Accountant.