Faqs
The answer to your questions
We can't answer this because it means your case is being handled by the Customs and Tax Authority (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira – AT). You can ask them about it directly at the Tax Office where you are domiciled for tax purposes.
If you do not pay after receiving the notification we sent you, the process will be submitted to the Customs and Tax Authority (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira – AT). For every unpaid notification, the Tax Office where you are domiciled for tax purposes divides the process into two:
(a) Tax enforcement proceedings: for the payment of the tolls and additional charges mentioned in the notification (€2.21 for each journey). Administration costs and interest on arrears will also be added to this amount. The tax enforcement proceedings includes the debts related with the infractions occurred each month by the same person/vehicle/(sub)concession.
(b) Offence proceedings: for the payment of the fines applicable to this part of the payment process and respective costs. A case will be opened per day/person/vehicle/(sub)concession of the unpaid notification.
At this stage, the minimum fine is 7.5 times the sum of the journeys made by one person, in the same vehicle, on a (sub)concession throughout one day (a minimum value of €25 applies), but it could be as much as four times the minimum value. For example, if the sum of the journeys done is €10, then the minimum fine would be €75 (€10 x 7.5) and the maximum would be €300 (€75 x 4). In the case of corporations, the minimum fine is 20 times the value per journey.
The procedural costs are calculated on the basis of the Regulamento de Custas Processuais regulations governing procedural costs and they apply both to the enforcement procedure (a) and to the offence procedure (b), but if you pay voluntarily within 30 business days, you will get a discount of 50% on the procedural costs of the offence procedure (b).
If you still don't pay the amount the Tax Office says you have to pay, they will start the enforcement procedure to force you to pay by seizing your assets. If this happens, the amount owed will continue to rise as interest and procedural costs are added to it.
The Tax Office sends its notifications to the address you use for tax purposes. Ascendi sends notifications to the name and address shown on the vehicle's registration record, i.e. those held on file at the Motor Vehicle Registry Office. This is why it is so important that your vehicle's records are always kept up-to-date.