# How to Start an Import/Export Business in Portugal (2026)

> How to start an import/export business in Portugal in 2026: company setup, EORI, customs, IVA rules, licences and real margins.

- Source: https://www.growinportugal.com/how-to-start-an-import-export-business-in-portugal
- Publisher: GrowIN Portugal (https://www.growinportugal.com)
- Published: 2026-08-23
- Last reviewed: 2026-09-01
- Language: en

> **In short — as of August 2026:** Portugal is a genuine EU/CPLP trade gateway — Atlantic deep-water ports (Sines handled over 42 million tonnes of cargo in 2025; Leixões and Lisboa add container and general-cargo capacity) plus Portuguese-language ties to Brazil, Angola and Mozambique. To trade, you need a Portuguese company (Lda recommended over freelancer status for liability), a free EORI number from the AT's customs portal, and correct IVA treatment: reverse charge for intra-EU purchases, 23% import VAT plus customs duty for third-country goods above the value threshold. Regulated goods (food, alcohol, pharma, plants/animals) need DGAV, ASAE or INFARMED clearance. Realistic working capital starts at €15,000–€50,000+, and margins in commodity trading are typically thin (5–15%), rising for niche or branded goods. This is a relationship- and capital-driven business, not a passive one.

## What "Import/export" Actually Means as a Portuguese Business

"Import/export" isn't a single business model — it's a trading function you can attach to almost any product category. In practice it means one of three things: buying goods abroad and reselling them in Portugal (or the EU), buying Portuguese goods and selling them abroad, or acting as an intermediary who never physically touches the stock but arranges the deal, financing and logistics between two other parties. Each has a different capital profile, but all three need the same legal and customs foundations covered below.

## Portugal as a Gateway — The Real Advantage

The pitch you'll hear from AICEP (the state trade and investment agency) and every economic-development brochure is that Portugal sits at a genuine crossroads: inside the EU single market on one side, and linked by language, history and business ties to the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) — Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cabo Verde and others — on the other. That's not just marketing. Portuguese-language contracts, shared legal traditions with Brazil and Angola, and decades of diaspora business networks genuinely lower the friction of trading with those markets compared with starting cold from another EU country.

The physical infrastructure backs it up. The **Port of Sines** — Portugal's deep-water Atlantic hub and the country's largest port by tonnage — handled roughly 42 million tonnes of cargo and around 1.7 million TEU of containers in 2025, with direct ocean-going services to the Americas, Africa and Asia via its container terminal. **Porto de Leixões** (Porto) and the **Port of Lisboa** add container, ro-ro and general-cargo capacity closer to the country's two main population and business centres, each handling several hundred thousand TEU and multiple million tonnes of cargo annually. For a trader, that means real shipping-line frequency to Brazilian, Angolan and West African ports without routing everything through Rotterdam or Antwerp first — though for most EU-bound trade, road freight through Spain and France is still faster and cheaper than sea freight.

The honest caveat: being "well positioned" doesn't do the selling for you. Brazil, Angola and Mozambique each have their own import licensing, foreign-exchange controls (Angola's kwanza convertibility has been a recurring headache for exporters) and payment-risk profile that a Lisbon address doesn't neutralise. Portugal gives you the infrastructure and the language bridge — the market knowledge and buyer relationships are still yours to build.

## Setting Up the Company and Getting Trade-Ready

**Company structure.** A **Unipessoal Lda** (single-member limited company) is the standard vehicle — it separates your personal assets from supplier and customs liabilities, which matters the moment you're fronting payment for a container of goods. Incorporation runs roughly €220–€3,900 depending on the route (Empresa na Hora versus a done-for-you service, which adds state fees at cost), on top of which you need a certified accountant from day one. See our [cost of starting a business](/cost-of-starting-a-business-in-portugal/) and [step-by-step company setup](/how-to-open-a-company-in-portugal-step-by-step/) guides for the full incorporation mechanics — they apply the same way here as to any other Lda.

**EORI number.** Every business that imports or exports needs an **EORI** (Economic Operators Registration and Identification) number to clear customs anywhere in the EU. Registration is free at the AT's customs portal (aduaneiro.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt/eori/registry); if your company is already established in Portugal with a NIF, the EORI is typically issued automatically and tied to that NIF. Apply the moment the company exists — you cannot file a customs declaration without it.

**Customs declarations.** Every shipment crossing the EU's external border needs a customs declaration (DAU/Documento Único Administrativo), filed electronically through the AT's systems. Most small and mid-sized traders use a **despachante oficial** (licensed customs broker) or their freight forwarder to file these — budget a per-declaration fee that varies by broker and complexity, and get a firm quote before committing to a corridor rather than assuming a fixed figure.

**IVA: intra-EU vs third-country trade — the distinction that trips people up.** If you buy from or sell to a VAT-registered business in another EU country, you're doing an **intra-community acquisition or supply**: no VAT changes hands at the border, and you self-account for it via **reverse charge** on your Portuguese VAT return. If you import from a non-EU country — Brazil, Angola, the UK, China — **import VAT at the standard 23% rate** is charged on the customs value plus any duty, generally payable at (or shortly after) clearance, and recoverable on your next VAT return if you're properly registered. Exports outside the EU are zero-rated for VAT purposes but still need a full customs export declaration. Get this wrong and you either overpay VAT you didn't owe, or under-declare and expose the company to a customs audit — see our [VAT/IVA guide](/vat-iva-in-portugal-guide/) for the mechanics of registration and filing, and the [verified VAT/IVA figures](/data/vat-iva) for the current rate.

**Licences for regulated goods.** Most manufactured goods (textiles, ceramics, hardware, furniture) need nothing beyond standard customs compliance and, for goods sold in the EU, CE marking where applicable. Regulated categories are a different story: food, plants, animals and animal products require **DGAV** (Direção-Geral de Alimentação e Veterinária) registration and often phytosanitary or health certificates; **ASAE** enforces food-safety compliance domestically; alcohol carries **excise duty (IEC)** obligations on top of VAT; pharmaceuticals and supplements fall under **INFARMED**. Check your specific HS/tariff code against these regimes before you commit capital — a shipment held at customs for missing paperwork is one of the most common (and expensive) first-year mistakes.

## Working Capital and Logistics Realities

This is where most first-time traders underestimate the business. You typically pay your supplier — in full or with a deposit — before goods ship, while your buyer often pays 30, 60 or even 90 days after delivery. That gap has to be funded from somewhere: your own capital, a trade-finance facility, or a documentary letter of credit, each with its own cost and paperwork. Add freight (sea freight from Brazil or Angola typically takes 3–5 weeks; a Sines–Luanda or Sines–Santos corridor is workable but not fast), cargo insurance (commonly quoted around 0.3–0.5% of shipment value, confirm current pricing with your insurer), clearance fees, and the real risk of a delayed vessel, a rejected inspection, or a buyer who stalls payment once goods have landed.

Realistically, budget **€15,000–€50,000+** as a working-capital floor before you commit to a genuine trading operation rather than a single opportunistic shipment. Undercapitalised traders don't usually fail because the margin was bad — they run out of cash in the gap between paying the supplier and collecting from the buyer.

## Realistic Costs and Margins — A Worked Example

| Item | Typical range (2026) |
|---|---|
| Company incorporation (Unipessoal Lda) | €220–€3,900 + state fees |
| EORI number | Free |
| Certified accountant (mandatory) | ~€150–€350/month (GrowIN: bookkeeping from €160/mo; VAT declarations, IRC and company secretary billed separately) |
| Registered address (if no premises) | ~€50/month |
| Customs broker/despachante fee per shipment | Variable — get a quote per corridor |
| Cargo insurance | ~0.3–0.5% of shipment value (confirm with insurer) |
| Working capital floor | €15,000–€50,000+ |
| Typical gross margin — commodity/bulk goods | ~5–15% |
| Typical gross margin — niche/branded goods | ~20–40% |

A worked example: a trader sourcing €30,000 of goods, landing freight and insurance at roughly €2,500, and customs/duty at roughly €1,500, has about €34,000 in landed cost. Sold on at a 15% margin, that's roughly €40,000 in revenue — a gross profit of around €6,000 per container. Run six to eight such shipments a year once relationships are established, and annual revenue lands around €240,000–€320,000 with gross profit around €36,000–€48,000, before accountant fees, travel, insurance, financing costs and your own draw. Year one is almost always thinner, because building supplier and buyer trust takes time — don't budget household income against year-one projections.

> **Case study.** Marta, 44, runs a two-person Lda from Porto trading one deliberately narrow corridor: Portuguese olive oil, wine and cork products exported to Luanda and Maputo, with a return flow of Angolan and Brazilian coffee imported for the Portuguese specialty market. She started in 2023 with €25,000 of personal capital and a network built over a decade working for a Porto-based export trader. In her second full year, turnover reached about €210,000 across roughly seven shipments, at an average gross margin of 13% — around €27,000 gross profit — against which she paid a €249/month accountant, a €39/month registered address, freight/customs costs per shipment, and two trips a year to Luanda to maintain the relationship in person. Her net before tax landed around €16,000, in a year she describes as "finally profitable, not yet comfortable." Her take: "Everyone asks about the margin. Nobody asks about the six months it took to get paid on my first Angola shipment, or what a missed vessel connection does to your cash flow. The relationships are the business — the paperwork is the easy part."

## Things to Watch

- **Payment risk with new buyers.** A first-time buyer who delays or defaults after goods ship is the single biggest way traders lose money — use deposits, letters of credit or trade credit insurance until trust is established.
- **FX and transfer friction in some corridors.** Angola's kwanza convertibility and Mozambique's foreign-currency rules have repeatedly complicated getting paid — confirm current transfer conditions before pricing a deal, not after shipping.
- **Underestimating the cash-flow gap.** Paying suppliers up front while waiting 60–90 days for buyer payment is normal, not a sign something went wrong — fund it deliberately rather than discovering it mid-shipment.
- **Missing product-specific licensing.** A container held at customs for a missing DGAV certificate or excise registration is expensive and slow to fix after the fact.
- **Thin margins on commodity goods.** Bulk, undifferentiated products rarely clear more than single-digit-to-low-teens margins — the money is usually in niche or relationship-protected corridors.
- **Treating CPLP ties as a shortcut.** Language and history lower friction; they don't replace due diligence on a specific buyer, market or regulatory regime.

## The Candid Verdict

Import/export in Portugal is a real, legitimate business with genuine structural advantages — EU market access, functioning Atlantic ports, and a language and cultural bridge to Brazil, Angola and Mozambique few other EU countries offer as naturally. But it is not a low-effort or passive business. Margins are usually thin, working capital gets tied up for months, and the paperwork — EORI, customs declarations, correct IVA treatment, product-specific licensing — is unforgiving of mistakes. It suits people who already have supplier or buyer relationships, product or market knowledge, or fluency in a specific corridor far more than someone starting from zero purely because "Portugal is a gateway." If that describes you, the setup itself is straightforward relative to the trading capital you'll need. If you're starting cold with no network, expect year one to be about relationship-building and cash-flow survival, not profit — weigh it against other [business ideas in Portugal](/10-business-ideas-to-start-in-portugal/) that need less working capital to prove out.

## Short FAQ

**Can I start import/export as a freelancer instead of opening a company?** Technically yes — a registered ENI can hold an EORI and trade under their own NIF — but most people incorporate a Lda quickly given the payment and contractual risk involved in fronting supplier costs before buyers pay.

**Does Portugal's CPLP membership give me any formal trade advantage with Brazil or Angola?** Not in the form of automatic tariff preferences — CPLP is a cultural and cooperation bloc, not a customs union. The advantage is practical: shared language, legal familiarity and diaspora business networks, not a legal trade privilege.

**What's the realistic timeline from incorporation to first shipment?** Company and EORI setup can be done within weeks; the slower part is sourcing a reliable supplier, agreeing terms, arranging freight and clearing customs — three to six months to a first completed, paid shipment is a realistic first-timer's timeline.

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For the tax mechanics of running the company once it's trading, see our [company setup](/company-setup/) and [VAT/IVA](/vat-iva-in-portugal-guide/) guides, and for the NIF and tax-registration basics, our [tax & NIF](/tax-and-nif/) pillar.

> Setting up the Lda, sorting the EORI, and getting the accounting foundation right before your first shipment matters more than most first-time traders realise. Our [company setup service](/services/company-setup/) handles incorporation and the accountant handover end-to-end — book it before you commit capital to a corridor you haven't fully priced out yet.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do I need a Portuguese company to import or export goods?

Not strictly — a registered freelancer (ENI) can trade under their own NIF and EORI. But most serious traders incorporate a Lda quickly, because import/export carries real contractual and payment-default risk, and limited liability matters once you're fronting supplier payments or holding stock. A Unipessoal Lda also reads as more credible to overseas suppliers and buyers than a sole trader.

### How do I get an EORI number in Portugal?

Register free online at aduaneiro.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt/eori/registry. If your company is established in Portugal with a NIF, the EORI is usually issued automatically and linked to it; non-established operators complete a third-country form and submit signed supporting documents. You need it before your first customs declaration — get it as soon as the company exists.

### Do I pay Portuguese VAT on goods I import from Brazil or Angola?

Yes. Import VAT (IVA) at 23% is charged on the customs value plus duty when goods clear customs from a non-EU country, and is generally recoverable on your next return if you're VAT-registered. This is different from an intra-EU acquisition (say, from Spain), where reverse charge applies and no VAT is paid at the border.

### What licences do I need to import or export food, alcohol or other regulated goods?

It depends entirely on the product. Food, plants, animals and animal products need DGAV registration and often health certificates; ASAE enforces food-safety compliance; alcohol carries excise duty (IEC) obligations; medicines and supplements fall under INFARMED. Generic goods (textiles, ceramics, hardware) usually need no product-specific licence beyond standard customs and CE-marking rules.

### How much working capital do I actually need to start?

For a genuine trading operation — not a one-off shipment — realistically €15,000–€50,000+, because you're usually paying suppliers before buyers pay you, and freight, insurance and customs costs land upfront. Undercapitalised traders routinely run out of cash between the purchase order and the incoming payment, not because the margin was bad.

### Is import/export a passive way to build income in Portugal?

No. It's one of the most relationship- and capital-driven business models available — margins are usually thin, logistics fail in ways you can't fully control, and trust with suppliers and buyers takes years to build. It suits people with an existing network or product knowledge far more than first-time entrepreneurs looking for a hands-off income stream.

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© GrowIN Portugal. Cite as: GrowIN Portugal, "How to Start an Import/Export Business in Portugal (2026)", https://www.growinportugal.com/how-to-start-an-import-export-business-in-portugal