Construction paperwork in Portugal: the documents on an obra, in English

Every delivery by a VAT-registered supplier travels with a transport document under the goods-in-circulation regime (Decreto-Lei 147/2003). It names the sender and recipient with their NIFs, describes the goods and quantities, and shows the loading and unloading places and the start time of the transport. Larger senders report it to the AT before the truck leaves. The AT treats guia de remessa and guia de transporte as having the same content. The site team signs the guia on receipt, and in practice it becomes the evidence that the goods invoiced were actually delivered.

Details: transport documents in Portugal and guia de remessa explained.

An invoice is required for every supply, even if the customer does not ask for it (CIVA art. 29(1)(b)). Its content is set by CIVA art. 36(5): both parties’ NIFs, quantity and usual name of the goods or services, net price, VAT rates and amounts, the reason for any exemption, and the delivery date if different from the invoice date. A fatura global can cover a period and is issued within 5 working days of its end (art. 36(2)).

A fatura-recibo combines invoice and receipt, and is generally used when sale and payment happen together. A nota de crédito corrects an invoice — for example, returned pallets or a price error — and must reference the invoice it corrects (art. 36(6)). Quotations, work sheets or pro-formas that could be confused with an invoice must say they are not an invoice (“não constitui fatura”) (DL 28/2019, art. 7(2)).

Subcontractor invoices for construction services are often issued without VAT under the reverse charge, with the wording “IVA - autoliquidação” — see the construction reverse charge. Material deliveries carry normal VAT. Every invoice and transport document carries an ATCUD unique code (ATCUD explained).

Supply prices are usually fixed in a contract or adjudicação with each supplier, often a price table per article for the obra. That is the reference every invoice line should be checked against.

On the client side of an empreitada, work done is measured periodically in an auto de medição (measurement record), which then supports the contractor’s invoice to the owner. The form and frequency depend on the contract and, on public works, on the Public Contracts Code; this page does not cover those rules. When a contractor moves its own materials to be incorporated in its works, the goods-in-circulation rules mention a folha de obra (site work sheet) as the record (DL 147/2003, art. 4(7)).

To carry out construction in Portugal a company needs an alvará or certificado de empreiteiro, for public or private works, issued under Lei 41/2015 by IMPIC, which publishes a register of licensed entities. Since 1 July 2026 the licence also decides whether a subcontractor’s invoice falls under the VAT reverse charge.

On public works, the contracting authority may require a caução (performance guarantee) under the Public Contracts Code, which may in some cases be replaced by retentions from payments. Amounts and thresholds depend on the contract and the Code; check them in the tender documents and with your lawyer rather than relying on a summary.

Accounting support documents, including invoices, are kept for 10 years (CIVA art. 52; DL 28/2019 art. 19). Transport documents are kept until the end of the fourth year after issue under DL 147/2003, without prejudice to the 10-year rule where they support accounting entries. Paper can be digitised, but originals may only be destroyed once the integrity controls in DL 28/2019 art. 23 are in place and, for purchase invoices, after the VAT deduction has been exercised.

Most of the time on an obra goes into matching these documents: guia against invoice, invoice line against contract price. Audiree reads guias and invoices from a photo or PDF with AI, matches each line to the contract, approves what agrees and sends differences to review with the exact gap. It does not issue documents, keep the legal archive or replace your ERP. It is built in Portugal and works today with Portuguese construction companies — see construction companies in Portugal.