The Portuguese government has proposed another delay to the requirement for qualified electronic signatures (QES) on e-invoices. Under the new draft 2026 State Budget Law, PDF invoices without a QES will continue to be accepted until the end of 2026.

Timeline

• The requirement for e-invoices to include a QES was previously scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2026.
• The new proposal extends the transitional regime, allowing invoices in PDF format without QES to remain valid until 31 December 2026.
• The mandatory QES requirement would now apply from 1 January 2027, subject to approval of the final budget law.

Impact

This draft postponement offers businesses in Portugal additional time to prepare for the technical and operational requirements associated with using QES for e-invoicing.

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