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The order for payment procedure applies to:
• Financial obligations arising from contracts not exceeding €15 000 pursuant to Article 1 of Decree-Law No 269/98 of 1 September 1998.
• Regardless of value, late payment in commercial transactions (‘a transaction between companies or between companies and public bodies for the purpose of supplying goods or providing services in exchange for remuneration’), pursuant to Article 10(1) of Decree-Law No 62/20213 of 10 May 2013.
For claims arising from contracts, there is an upper limit of €15 000.
For claims arising from commercial transactions, there is no upper limit.
Optional.
Yes, the legal rules on the order for payment procedure apply to cases where the defendant lives outside Portugal.
In Portugal, the application for a payment order can be lodged with:
1) In electronic format, by filling in and sending the form available in the CITIUS IT system, or by sending the electronic file via CITIUS.
2) On paper, delivered to the registry.
Yes, an obligatory form is provided for under Ministerial Implementing Order No 21/2020 of 28 January 2020. The form can be downloaded by clicking on this link.
The court registries competent to receive the paper application for a payment order can make the standard form available to individuals on request.
The electronic form is available to lawyers and solicitors via CITIUS.
Representation by a lawyer is not compulsory.
In the application for a payment order you must set out the facts underlying your claim in accordance with Article 10(2)(d) of the Rules for Proceedings annexed to Decree-Law No 269/98 of 1 September 1998.
It is not necessary to present written evidence of the claim at issue.
The application for a payment order may be rejected on the grounds set out in Article 11(1) of the Rules for Proceedings annexed to Decree-Law No 269/98 of 1 September 1998.
An appeal against a decision to reject an application for a payment order may be lodged with the judge or, where the court has more than one judge, with the duty judge, in accordance with Article 11(2) of the Rules for Proceedings annexed to Decree-Law No 269/98 of 1 September 1998.
The time limit for opposing the payment order is 15 days, pursuant to Article 12(1) of the Rules for Proceedings annexed to Decree-Law No 269/98 of 1 September 1998
If the defendant challenges the order, the case is then transferred back to the ordinary cases, taking the form of a special or ordinary declaratory action in accordance with the cases provided for in Article 3 of the Rules for Proceedings annexed to Decree-Law No 269/98 of 1 September 1998. and Article 10(2) and (4) Decree-Law No 62/2013 of 10 May 2013.
If, after being duly notified, the defendant does not submit a statement of opposition, the registrar attaches the following words to the application for a payment order: ‘This document has enforceable effect’ (‘Este documento tem força executiva’), as laid down in Article 14(1) of the Rules for Proceedings annexed to Decree-Law No 269/98 of 1 September 1998.
Once the enforcement clause has been attached, the registrar makes the order available to the applicant, preferably by electronic means (Article 14(5) of the Rules for Proceedings annexed to Decree-Law No 269/98 of 1 September 1998).
An appeal against refusal of enforceability can be brought before the court, in accordance with Article 14(4) of the Rules for Proceedings annexed to Decree-Law No 269/98 of 1 September 1998).
Applicable legislation
Notice:
The European Judicial Network-Civil Contact Point, the courts and other entities and authorities are not bound by the information contained in this factsheet, which may be subject to changes in interpretation by the case-law. Although the factsheets are updated on a regular basis, it is still necessary to read the legislation in force.
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