Applications to SIFIDE must be submitted by the end of May of the year following the financial year.

The completed form should be sent electronically to here.

Once the application has been checked for compliance (duly completed form and verification of all requested attachments), the company will be sent the respective proof of the Tax Credit application, for the purposes of Article 40(1) of Law No. 162/2014 of October 31.

Companies with a tax period other than the calendar year must submit their application to SIFIDE II by the last day of the fifth month following the end of the tax period to which the R&D expenses relate (in line with the spirit of the law, which stipulates the last day of May for companies with a tax period equal to the calendar year).

The criteria used to identify and distinguish R&D activities include the presence of an appreciable element of novelty and/or the resolution of a scientific-technological uncertainty. For more information see here.

• Declaration of the company’s liability (automatically generated by the platform);
• Declaration attesting to R&D expenditure, signed by the applicant company’s certified accountant;
• Map of R&D expenditure [Excel];
• IES;
• Model 22;
• Form per Ecodesign project and respective annexes – where applicable.

It is not necessary to attach any expenditure documents. It is sufficient to fill in the expenditure tables on the application form correctly.

For the current financial year, the rates in force are:

• Basic rate – 32.50% of expenditure incurred in the year of application;

• Incremental rate – 50% of the increase in this expenditure compared to the average of the previous 2 years, up to a limit of 1.5 million euros.

For IRC taxpayers who are SMEs according to the definition in article 2 of Decree-Law no. 372/2007, of November 6, who have not yet completed two financial years and who have not benefited from the incremental rate, a surcharge of 15% applies to the base rate.

Yes, in the appropriate percentage of participation in the project(s) and as long as they participate directly in the R&D activities.

In the case of resources with level 1, 2 and 3 qualifications, according to the National Qualifications Framework, as well as other levels, who participate indirectly in R&D activities, these can be charged under “Operating Expenses”.

In this case, the corresponding expense will be considered at 120% of its amount, and the company must present the actual value of this resource on the form.

Yes, except for all expenses incurred within the scope of projects carried out exclusively on behalf of third parties, namely through contracts and the provision of R&D services.

Within the scope of SIFIDE, the figures in the applications are compared with the information in the databases of the financial support systems, and the eligible expenses are those considered in those programs, provided that they are also eligible under the terms of SIFIDE.

Yes, whatever the nature of the subsidy (Portuguese State or European Commission) it will always be deducted from the eligible expenditure, however the application form must state the total expenditure per item.

In this case, the company must convert it to a grant using the new simulator available here.

Ecodesign” is the definition used in DIRECTIVE 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 21, 2009.

The company must fill in a form (available soon) for each of the Ecodesign projects, which must be attached to the SIFIDE application.

In the“total cost” field, all expenses relating to wages, salaries or wages and salaries must be taken into account:

• the entity’s charges on remuneration;
• insurance for accidents at work and occupational diseases;
• social action expenses;
• staff training costs.

Remuneration, wages and salaries” should be taken into account, including, in addition to wages and salaries, bonuses, percentages, commissions, shares, allowances or bonuses, attendance fees and other ancillary remuneration, even if periodic, fixed or variable, whether contractual or not.

In addition, they must be taken into account when calculating staff remuneration:

• Absence allowances;
• Subsistence allowances and amounts earned for the use of the employer’s own car;
• Funds for travel and representation expenses;
• Amounts earned, even as compensation, for changing workplace.

Operating costs are eligible, up to a maximum of 55% of the costs of staff with a minimum level 4 of the National Qualifications Framework directly involved in R&D tasks. accounted for as remuneration, wages or salaries for the financial year.

We suggest consulting the Regulations and the Good Practice Guide.

National entities interested in obtaining recognition must submit the application form, available at “ENTER” after registering the company.

The form consists of two parts:

1. Identification of the company in its various quadrants;
2. Identification of the areas of activity in which the company wishes to be recognized, accompanied by the following set of documents:

• Permanent Certificate;
• Detailed description of R&D activities using the template;
• Model 22/Report of Accounts for the previous year and Response to the National Scientific and Technological Potential Survey (IPCTN) or Statement from the ROC/CC or Reasoned statement from the incubator organisation;
• Organisational chart and proof of employment with the entity or human resources recruitment plan in accordance with the template.

Recognition is valid until the twelfth financial year following the one in which it was requested, in accordance with Article 37-A(2) of Decree-Law no. 162/2014 of 31 October, in the wording currently in force.

Entities whose good repute has been recognized for more than 8 years are subject to reassessment and may be contacted by the National Innovation Agency to update their information. If they wish, entities can request a reassessment by submitting an application for recognition of good repute, as indicated in the previous question.

Recognition of suitability to carry out research and development activities is carried out by ANI in accordance with the provisions of article 37-A, no. 1 of the Investment Tax Code.
Companies that fulfil the following requirements are eligible:

• They are resident in Portuguese territory or non-residents with a permanent establishment in that territory;
• They fulfil one of the following conditions:

  i. Investment in R&D equivalent to at least 7.5 per cent of its turnover in the year prior to the application for recognition, by:

• The availability by the company of the relevant data provided within the scope of the National Scientific and Technological Potential Survey (IPCTN); or

• In the case of companies not covered by the IPCTN, submission of accounting data proving turnover and investment in R&D, namely through a statement from the Chartered Accountant/Certified Accountant certifying the amounts declared.

   

  ii. Have been in operation for up to three years and are incubated in an incubator certified or recognised by IAPMEI (or by an entity to which this competence may be assigned) for the purposes of integration into incubation programmes, upon presentation of a reasoned proposal from the incubator describing the scope of the activities carried out since the company was created.

In the case of companies that have invested at least 7.5 per cent of their turnover in R&D in the year prior to the application:

• Permanent Certificate;
• Detailed description of R&D activities, according to the template;
• Organisational chart, highlighting employees with an employment relationship with the entity who perform R&D activities D activities, with emphasis on the domains and main areas of activity aligned with the National Strategy for Smart Specialisation (ENEI), as well as documents proving the employment relationship, namely the respective employment contracts or proof of registration of human resources with Social Security or a human resources recruitment plan for the following 9 months, in accordance with the template, when it is not possible, at the time of submission of the application, to demonstrate the employment relationship with the entity.
• Model 22/Report of accounts for the previous year and Response to the National Scientific and Technological Potential Survey (IPCTN), in the case of companies covered by the IPCTN.
• In the case of companies not covered by the IPCTN, a statement from the Statutory Auditor/Certified Accountant, signed by the company’s management, certifying the turnover and R&D investment figures declared for the previous year.
• In the case of foreign entities that have been established in Portuguese territory for less than 1 (one) year, duly certified accounting evidence of turnover and investment in R&D for the financial year prior to the application, reported by the entity that controls the establishment in Portuguese territory, in the country of origin.

The evaluation is based on the following criteria:

• R&D projects already carried out and in progress;
• History of the organization;
• Significant previous experience in the areas/fields requested;
• Curriculum of the R&D team;
• Employees’ ties to the organization;
• Infrastructure/facilities/equipment to support R&D activities.

After the application for Recognition of Good Standing has been submitted:

1. Conformity checks are carried out in accordance with the admissibility criteria;
2. In the event of admissibility, an invitation to schedule an online meeting of approximately 45 minutes is sent;
3. After the meeting, ANI notifies the organization of the decision to grant, partially grant or reject the application;

After receiving the decision, the organization can request the SELO ID promotional materials and communication guide from ANI by emailing: sifide@ani.pt.

Article 40: “Entities benefiting from SIFIDE undertake to report annually, within two months of the end of each financial year, to the Agência Nacional de Inovação, S. A., through a map of indicators to be made available by the latter, the results of the activities supported by the tax incentive granted, during the five years following the approval of the incentive.”

It is ANI’s understanding that companies should respond to these indicators 2 months after the end of the application evaluation, since the results of the activities supported by the tax incentive granted are requested.

The indicator map should be sent to sifide@ani.pt.

Companies that do not submit applications in consecutive years are subject to this obligation for the 5 years following the approval of the incentive.

All companies that have obtained a tax credit for R&D activities approved by SIFIDE must respond.

Regardless of whether or not they submit an application to SIFIDE, they must respond to the survey within 5 years of the credit being granted.

The aim is to obtain information on the results of projects approved, in progress or completed in the reference year. The year of application should be taken as the reference, not the year in which the survey was completed.

If the company has only ongoing projects in the reference year, they should simply fill in the “Annual Activity” tab. If they present projects that ended in the reference year, they should also respond to the project tab.

No. They just have to answer the question and not add any new rows or columns.

This tab shows the results of all projects approved under SIFIDE, whether they are in progress or were completed in the reference year.

In the “Job creation” box, the number of jobs created in all areas of the company should be counted, provided that they originate in the R&D activities that benefited from SIFIDE.

In the “Industrial property” box, only the number of registrations/licenses made as a result of projects approved by SIFIDE should be indicated.

When calculating the “Turnover of SIFIDE-supported projects”, only products or services that originated from SIFIDE-supported projects should be taken into account.

The “Exports” table should only include exports that originated from projects approved under SIFIDE.

The “Collaborative projects” box should include contracts signed with entities and/or companies during the course of (or after the conclusion of) projects supported by SIFIDE. For example, during the execution of the project, the company may contract another with a recognized identity in the practice of R&D activities.

Not necessary. Point 3 should only be filled in if a project actually ended in the reference year.

They should only list the projects completed in the reference year, and the information should be updated in the following 5 years, recording developments and adding some more that have been completed in the meantime.

You can consult the list of Funds certified by ANI here.

It is a Fund whose Management Regulations are in accordance with the SIFIDE legislation in force at the time.

The investment made should be included in point f) Participation in the capital of R&D institutions and contributions to funds intended to finance R&D.

In addition to the usual documentation, it is necessary to attach:

• Fund Management Regulations;
• Proof of subscription of Shares;
• Proof of investment (bank transfer).

No, the investments cannot relate to the same expenses that are the subject of other public support, for example, with the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) and Portugal 2030 (PT 2030).

Therefore, if the investments relate to the same expenses, this will result in non-compliance with the rules governing the Funds, with additional CIT assessments being issued.

Not in accordance with Article 37(9) of the IFC, they do not need to obtain or apply for recognition as a Technology Sector Company.

Yes, as long as they are incubated in a certified incubator.

You must go to the ANI website, fill in the online form and submit the requested documents.

Yes, you must be incubated in a certified incubator or have invested at least 7.5% of your turnover in R&D in the previous year, even if you have already been in business for 6 years.

No. In order to be eligible for investment in R&D by funds, they must obtain recognition of their suitability in terms of Research & Development under Article 37 – A of the Investment Tax Code.

They are separate applications, both of which have to meet the respective eligibility requirements.

According to article 2 of Ministerial Order no. 295/2021, of July 23, “ Employers with registered offices or effective management in Portuguese territory, as well as non-resident employers with a permanent establishment in this territory, who carry out, as their main activity, a commercial, industrial or agricultural activity, and who cumulatively meet the following conditions, are considered to be subject to this regime:

1. a) Are not considered, during the period referred to in point b), to be micro, small or medium-sized enterprises, under the terms set out in the annex to Decree-Law no. 372/2007, of November 6, in its current wording;
2. b) Have recorded a positive net result in the accounting period for the calendar year 2020 or, if the accounting period does not coincide with the calendar year, for the accounting period beginning on or after January 1, 2020, in accordance with the respective accounts approved by their governing bodies, under the terms of the applicable legislation..”

The expression “(…) are principally engaged in a commercial, industrial or agricultural activity (…)” is an expression enshrined in tax legislation, namely in Article 3 of the IRC Code, which establishes in paragraph 4 that “For the purposes of this Code, all activities that consist of carrying out economic operations of a business nature are considered to be of a commercial, industrial or agricultural nature, including the provision of services.”, so it must be understood that the regime is also applicable to entities that carry out any business activity as their main activity.

As established in Article 7(3) of the Ordinance, the level of employment must be maintained “in the months between October 2020 and the month preceding the month of application“, in accordance with Article 3(3).

Pursuant to Article 3(3) of the Ordinance, the average number will be calculated by Social Security, based on the number of workers employed by the entity at the end of October 2020 and the number of workers employed by the entity in the month prior to the month in which the application is submitted.

According to Article 2(2) of Ordinance 295/2021, “The maintenance of the level of employment is considered to be observed whenever, by the end of the month prior to the month of application, use or training of public support or tax incentive, where applicable, the entity has an average number of workers at its service equal to or greater than the level observed in October 2020.”

At the same time, under the terms of Article 3(5)(a), the legislator established “the prohibition on terminating employment contracts under the collective redundancy, redundancy due to job extinction or redundancy due to unsuitability modalities provided for in articles 359, 367 and 373 of the Labor Code, approved in the annex to Law no. 7/2009, of February 12, in its current wording, as well as initiating the respective procedures until December 31, 2021, without prejudice to the provisions of article 2(d) of Law no. 7/2009, of February 12, in its current wording.º 7/2009, of February 12, in its current wording, respectively, as well as to initiate the respective procedures, until December 31, 2021, without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph d) of article 2 of annex V of Law no. 27-A/2020, of July 24“.

Estas disposições da Portaria são a concretização do previsto no n.º 4 do artigo 403.º da Lei n.º 75-B/2020, de 31 de dezembro (Lei do Orçamento de Estado para 2021), que determina na sua alínea a) que a concessão dos apoios públicos e incentivos fiscais em causa, implica, para as entidades abrangidas pelo presente regime (ou seja, para as empresas com resultado líquido positivo no período de 2020 que não se qualifiquem como micro, pequenas ou médias empresas ) “A proibição de fazer cessar contratos de trabalho ao abrigo das modalidades de despedimento coletivo, de despedimento por extinção do posto de trabalho ou de despedimento por inadaptação, previstos, respetivamente, nos artigos 359.º, 367.º e 373.º do Código do Trabalho, bem como de iniciar os respetivos procedimentos até ao final do ano de 2021”.

Consequentemente, as empresas que tenham cessado “contratos de trabalho ao abrigo das modalidades de despedimento coletivo, de despedimento por extinção do posto de trabalho ou de despedimento por inadaptação” ou tenham iniciado até ao final os procedimentos para a cessação de contratos de trabalho ao abrigo de uma destas modalidades não poderão usufruir do benefício fiscal no exercício de 2021.

In the event of a reduction in the level of employment identified by Social Security, the company must be given the opportunity to demonstrate that this reduction is due to the occurrence of one of the situations provided for in Article 4(1)(b) of Ministerial Order 295/2021, of July 23, and therefore should not be taken into account for the purposes of verifying the maintenance of the level of employment.

In addition, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 of the same article, entities subject to the regime may also demonstrate that, in the overall calculation of the entities with which it has a corporate relationship of reciprocal holdings, control or group, even if not subject to the regime, the level of employment has been maintained, under the terms and conditions set out in this regime, with only those entities having their registered office or effective management in Portuguese territory or the permanent establishments of those entities located in Portugal being counted for this purpose.

Yes. Failure to comply with the duty to maintain employment levels will result in the suspension of the right to use these benefits during the tax period beginning on or after January 1, 2021.

However, the benefits may be used in subsequent periods, provided that the necessary legal requirements are met, as well as the submission of the respective applications..

No. A company is not obliged to demonstrate compliance with the criterion at group level and can take advantage of the tax incentives even if there has been a reduction in employment at group level.

Under the terms of the extraordinary and transitional incentive scheme for maintaining jobs, enshrined in article 403 of the State Budget Law for 2021 and subsequently regulated by Ministerial Order no. 295/2021, of July 23, access to public support during 2021 and the use of tax incentives in the tax period beginning on or after January 1, 2021, by the entities subject to it, would be conditional on compliance with certain requirements regarding the maintenance of employment levels.

As such, it should be clarified that this regime only applied with reference to the 2021 tax year/period.

Therefore, since no legislation has been produced to renew the validity of this scheme for subsequent years/tax periods, we hereby inform you that the extraordinary and transitional incentive scheme for maintaining jobs will not remain in force for the 2022 tax period and subsequent years.