The new Portuguese Citizen Numbers (Números de Identificação Fiscal or NIF) will start with the number 3, the government has announced, with the change expected to take place in June or July 2019. Currently, the Tax and Customs Authority in Portugal (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira or AT) is still allocating NIFs that start with the number 2, but the possibilities of number combinations are going to run out in the coming months, so they will have to switch to NIF numbers starting with 3.
By releasing this information, the tax administration aims to give businesses plenty of time to adapt their IT systems to the change. Those who already have a social or fiscal number in Portugal won’t have to apply for a new NIF, but ex-pats and non-residents who get a NIF number after the change comes into effect will automatically be assigned a code beginning with 3.
The Portuguese NIF number is a tax identification number that is allocated by the AT to all natural persons, both Portuguese nationals and expats. Also known as a Número de Contribuinte, it is necessary for doing any legal or official operations in Portugal.
It is composed of nine digits, the first eight being sequential and the last being for supervisory purposes. The 2013 Decree-Law, which regulates the allocation of NIFs, states that the 'first digit on the left may vary from 1 to 4' and that each person may only hold one NIF. This number is unique to each person and if you lose your documentation, you will not be supplied with a new number, but rather with new papers.
Thus, "the exercise of any [financial or administrative] activity by a natural person, even as the owner of a private limited company, does not determine the allocation of a new NIF", says the AT.
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