Tax and Corporate Criminal Law

The connection between Tax Law, Criminal Law, and Corporate Law is at the forefront of current legal debate and raises numerous questions and difficulties. The offences of tax misappropriation (for example, the failure to remit withholding tax) and tax fraud are among the crimes with the highest number of proceedings initiated in Portugal.

In recent years, complex issues have arisen particularly concerning:

─ The liability of company directors or managers (both de jure and de facto);

─ The collection of evidence (both direct and indirect) by the tax inspection authorities and its use in criminal proceedings, and vice versa.

Both legal doctrine and jurisprudence — together with the tax administration — have shown difficulties in dealing with these specific matters. This not only highlights their inherent complexity but also underscores the usefulness of their study and critical examination.

The primary aim of this project is to assess the current state of affairs, identify the main reservations, challenges, and shortcomings encountered by practitioners and law enforcers, and to outline suitable and practicable solutions for their clarification.

Research Team:

Prof. Dr. Paulo Marques (PI)

 Nélson Coelho

Alexandre Simões

António Barroso Rodrigues

Duration: 2025-2026

Project status: Ongoing