There are debts that, at the end of a certain period of time, can no longer be legally charged. This is the so-called debt prescription, a mechanism provided for in Portuguese law that extinguishes the obligation to pay, provided that the creditor has not taken any initiative to require payment during the defined period.
According to the Civil Code, the prescription deadlines vary according to the type of debt. In many cases, the debtor is only obliged to pay if the prescription formally. Ignoring the subject is not enough.
Prescription requires the creditor’s inaction
According to the same source, for a debt to prescribe, it is necessary that the creditor has not taken measures to charge it, such as a judicial notification or execution process. Any action in this sense restarts the deadline for the prescription.
The law also provides that the confession of the debt or the conclusion of a payment agreement also interrupts the deadline. The debtor must therefore be aware of his correspondence and records.
The general deadline is 20 years
It refers to Article 309 of the Civil Code that, except for special provision, the ordinary term of prescription is 20 years. This applies, for example, to credit card debts or discovered lines to the Order.
As the Consumer Protection Association recalls, this understanding was confirmed by recent judicial judgments, including one of the Porto Appeal Court.
Essential services prescribe in 6 months
Write the Doctor Finance website that debts related to water, electricity, gas and telecommunications supply prescribe after six months. The same applies to accommodation, food and beverage services.
Still, it is rare for the providers of these services to let this deadline without trying to recover the missing amounts.
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Two years for liberal professions and trade
Debts for services provided by lawyers, doctors, accountants, psychologists, engineers or other liberal professions prescribe in two years, according to article 317 of the Civil Code. This period also applies to purchases made in commercial establishments, as well as supplies of products by industrialists or traders to individuals.
Three years for the NHS
When the debt is related to moderating fees charged by the National Health Service, the deadline is three years, according to Decree-Law No. 218/99.
It adds the same source that, in the case of prolonged treatments, the deadline counts from the last assistance date. The Information System (SATAM) allows us to send automatic notifications to users, reducing cases of prescription by oblivion.
Five years for periodic installments and social security
Article 310 of the Civil Code establishes a period of five years for debts arising from renewable installments such as income, condominium quotas, interest or pensions of expired food.
This deadline is also applicable to social security debts, but can be interrupted by any administrative diligence with knowledge of the debtor.
Eight years for state debts
In the case of finances, the General Tax Law establishes that the State has four years to settle taxes and another four years to execute the collection judicially. In total, it is eight years until the prescription of debts such as IRS, IMI, IUC or VAT. Explains what notifications or procedural acts interrupt this period, which means that prescription can be difficult to summon in practice.
How to invoke the prescription
For a debt to cease to be legal, it is necessary that the debtor formally alleges the prescription. This must be done in writing, ideally through registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt. Article 303 of the Civil Code indicates that the Court may only consider the prescription if it is expressly invoked. Otherwise, the debt remains valid, even after the end of the legal deadline.
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