The Presidential Decree nr. 245/21, of October 4, regarding the Legal Regime of the Tax Identification Number, currently in force, aims, among others, to broaden the taxpayer base, establishing the procedures regarding the attribution, composition, obligatory mention, use, updating, supervision and management of the Tax Identification Number (herein after "NIF") applicable to individuals, legal entities or equivalent entities.
As such, this legal regime deals, among others, with various aspects related to the procedure for its attribution by the General Tax Administration (Administração Geral Tributária), the only entity competent for this purpose. Individuals, legal entities and alike, whether resident or not, shall register and, consequently, obtain the respective NIF, with emphasis on the fact that non-residents, whether individuals, legal entities or alike, are subject to the simplified registration procedure and shall indicate a tax representative and prove their tax residence.
Furthermore, the referred legal regime stresses the importance of consulting the Taxpayer's Portal (Portal do Contribuinte). From now, the Taxpayer's Portal is the tax domicile with the purpose of taxpayer notification's, which is considered to have been notified 1 (one) day after the tax act is made available at that domicile (Taxpayer's Portal).
With regard to the causes of suspension and termination and their consequences, it should be noted that, in either situation, users are blocked from exercising any rights with the General Tax Administration or any public or private entity, from which may result an economic advantage, as well as mentioning the NIF in acts, making it impossible to perform various operations, listed exhaustively in this legislation, such as, but not only, issuing invoices and equivalent documents, importing and exporting, applying for permits and licenses and renewing visas. The decision to suspend the NIF under the terms of the General Tax Code (Código Geral Tributário) can be appealed against.
Another requirement of this legal regime is that individuals and legal entities, or entities equivalent to them, shall mention their NIF in all administrative procedures with any public or private entity, under penalty of the ineffectiveness of the act that is the object of the procedure. However, if it is not possible to correct the deficiency on one's own initiative, the interested parties are notified to do so within 5 (five) days, after this period without correct the act, it will be considered ineffectiveness.
Another important aspect of this legal regime is the fact that, whenever circumstances allow, the updating of this registry by electronic mail, portal or any other means indicated by the General Tax Administration, providing the necessary documents are duly sent. It is certain that the updating of the information shall be done within a maximum of 30 (thirty) days, counting from the date of the occurrence.
It also follows from this legal regime of the NIF, as a supervisory mechanism, that all entities, public and private, shall require, in the course of their activities, from their costumers or users, proof of their NIF, as well as verify, on the Taxpayer's Portal, the status of that NIF.
It should also be noted, still within the control mechanisms foreseen in this legal diploma, that the income subject to the withholding tax mechanism, even if exempt, shall not be paid or made paid or made available to the respective holders, by the entities responsible for that, without mention of the NIF of the beneficiary of the same, under penalty of a fine corresponding to 25% of the tax in question.
Last but not least, in case of non-compliance with the information rules on the mandatory mention of the NIF, the violator will be subject to the penalties resulting from the provisions of the General Tax Code, and the non-compliance with this Presidential Decree implies a fine of AOA 200,000.00 (two hundred thousand kwanzas), without prejudice to the application of other penalties provided in other applicable legislation.
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