Under EU rules, this kind of refund request can't go straight to the country where you paid the VAT - it has to pass through your own country's tax portal first. For companies established in Portugal, that's the Autoridade Tributária's Portal das Finanças. VAT4U prepares your entire claim data in the XML format so you can file it from Autoridade Tributária's Portal.
How your claim is filed: step-by-step
Opening the refund request
Every claim starts on the VAT Refund within the European Union page of the Portal das Finanças, using Entregar Pedido (Submit Request).
Image 1: The Portal das Finanças - landing page for EU VAT refunds.
Loading your claim
Rather than typing in every invoice by hand, your whole claim - company details, invoices, codes, amounts - is loaded in one go with Abrir ("Open"), using the claim file (XML) VAT4U has already prepared.
Image 2:
Validating the data
Before anything is sent, the file is checked with Validar ("Validate"), confirming everything matches what the portal expects - company details, refund period, invoice codes and amounts.
Submitting the claim
Once validated, the claim is sent with Entregar ("Submit"). From that moment, your claim is officially with the Portuguese tax authority, which forwards it to the country you're claiming from.
What's inside your claim file
Goods & services codes - every invoice is matched to the official code list, so nothing is submitted in the wrong category.
Supporting documents - your invoice copies and Power of Attorney are bundled together and attached to your claim, exactly the way the portal requires.
Credit notes - reported automatically as a negative amount. No manual adjustment needed on your side.
What do the claim statuses mean?
Once submitted, your claim can move through these stages:
STATUS | WHAT IT MEANS |
In Progress | Received by the Portuguese tax authority and being forwarded to (or awaiting acceptance from) the country you're claiming from. |
Under Review | Accepted by that country and currently being assessed. |
Not Accepted | The country declined to review the claim as submitted - the response details explain why. |
Partially Approved | The country approved part of the claimed amount. |
Fully Approved | The country approved the full claimed amount. |
Rejected | The country reviewed the claim and refused it. |
Replaced | This claim was superseded by a newer one for the same country and period. |