VAT and Indirect Taxes
Coordinated by Bárbara Miragaia and Rita Simão Luís, our VAT and Indirect Tax team provides legal and strategic advice on VAT, excise duties, customs law, and special contributions, supporting domestic and international clients in complex transactions, supply chains, and cross-border flows.
The VAT and Indirect Tax practice reflects MFA Legal & Tech's ongoing commitment to specialisation and to consolidating our offering in high-value-added sectors. Combining legal rigour, client proximity, and technological innovation, our team ensures an integrated, multidisciplinary response to highly complex matters and transactions. We guarantee our Clients sophisticated tax advice focused on cash-flow optimisation, practical implementation, and the rigorous mitigation of tax risks.
Our services
- Strategic VAT consultancy: Structuring of domestic and cross-border transactions, including analysis of place of supply rules, chain transactions and triangular transactions, exemptions and option for taxation, right to deduct, pro-rata and actual use methods, VAT rates, VAT grouping, real estate transactions, and financial services.
- VAT and digital transformation: Legal support in implementing electronic invoicing requirements, SAF-T (PT), billing software certification, and adaptation to new European requirements in the context of the VAT in the digital age (ViDA) package.
- Customs and international trade: Advice on import and export operations, tariff classification, dual-use items, customs value and respective adjustments, preferential origin and proof of origin, trade agreements, special customs regimes, and authorisations, including Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status.
- Excise duties and levies: Handling matters related to excise duties on alcoholic beverages, energy products, and tobacco, including release for consumption, exemptions, and movement under suspension arrangements, as well as sectoral and extraordinary levies and regulatory charges applicable to the energy, banking, pharmaceutical, retail, and audiovisual sectors.
- Tax risk diagnosis and management: Conducting VAT health checks, preventive reviews of internal procedures, and close collaboration with the Tax Criminal Law practice in preventing tax offences and contingencies.
- Cash-flow optimisation and VAT recovery: Implementation of efficient VAT payment and deduction mechanisms (deduction methods, reverse charge, monthly refund scheme, postponed import VAT) and VAT adjustments for bad debt.
- Audits, VAT refunds, and litigation: Assistance with VAT refunds, support in dealing with tax audits, and representation and assistance in administrative procedures, judicial proceedings, tax arbitration proceedings, and, where applicable, the Court of Justice of the European Union.
With solid experience in VAT and indirect tax, our team combines technical knowledge, strategic vision, and the ability to intervene in highly complex domestic and international operations. Key areas of expertise include:
- Real estate transactions: VAT treatment of property acquisitions and transfers, including under plural ownership, construction, leasing, works contracts, and accommodation services, including transfers of a going concern (TOGCs) and option for taxation. Additional advice on municipal property transfer tax (IMT), municipal property tax (IMI), and stamp duty.
- Telecommunications, technology, and innovation: Support on place of supply rules, electronically supplied services, VAT applicable to technological operations, and tax litigation, including issues related to contributions and regulatory charges in the audiovisual sector.
- Platforms, e-commerce, and digital services: Structuring of e-commerce operations, electronically supplied services, and cross-border B2B and B2C transactions, including the application of the OSS and IOSS schemes and applicable place of supply rules.
- Financial services: Support in analysing exemptions applicable to commissions, fees and financial services and in defining the best deduction method for entities with mixed or partially exempt activities.
- Retail and distribution: Advice on the VAT treatment of discounts, vouchers, promotional schemes, loyalty programmes, bad debt, as well as the treatment of cross-border flows and chain transactions.
- Pharmaceutical industry: Advice on reduced rates applicable to pharmaceutical products and medical devices, distribution contracts, pharmaceutical sector contributions, and import, export, and intra-Community supplies of pharmaceutical products.
- Energy, oil, and gas: Advice on excise duties levied on energy products, exemptions and movement under suspension arrangements, chain and triangular transactions, extraordinary energy sector levies, and import and export operations.
