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Public bodies’ debts to businesses: late-payment interest runs without a formal demand
Decreto-Lei n.º 180/2026, in force since 10 September, writes into the regulation on late payments by public bodies that, once the 30 or 60-day period ends, creditors are entitled to late-payment interest without a formal demand, at the Commercial Code rate.
New legislation
No formal demand
Decreto-Lei n.º 180/2026 (Portuguese decree-law on late payments by public bodies), of 9 September, amends Decreto-Lei n.º 127/2012, which regulates the Lei dos Compromissos e dos Pagamentos em Atraso (public commitments and late payments law). It has been in force since 10 September 2026 (the day after publication).
The decree follows Lei n.º 24/2026, of 1 June, which amended that law, and aligns Portuguese rules with Directive 2011/7/EU on combating late payment in commercial transactions.
What changes for businesses invoicing the State
| Topic | What the regulation now states |
|---|---|
| When a payment is late | Accounts payable that remain unpaid beyond the 30 or 60-day periods in article 5 of Decreto-Lei n.º 62/2013 (article 4(1)) |
| Late-payment interest | Once that period ends, the creditor is entitled to statutory late-payment interest for the period of delay, without any formal demand (article 14(2)) |
| Applicable rate | In commercial transactions between businesses and public bodies, late-payment interest is the rate set in the Código Comercial (Commercial Code) (article 14(3)) |
What this means in practice
- A business does not need to send a letter or claim to the public body for interest to start running: the period only has to have ended.
- The rate is the commercial interest rate, not the civil interest rate.
- The right to interest without a formal demand already existed in Decreto-Lei n.º 62/2013. What this decree does is write it expressly into the regulation that public bodies themselves apply when managing their commitments and payments.