Portugal: aid of up to €457.80 per lorry is now law — 10 working days to apply to the IMT, paid in order of arrival

This is Portuguese state aid, only for companies holding a licence from the IMT (Portugal). The extraordinary fuel aid that the Portuguese Government announced on 17 September now has its legal text: Decree-Law No. 199/2026, published in the Diário da República (Portugal’s official gazette) on 7 October and in force since 8 October. It is the text that was missing to know how and when to apply.

How much each vehicle gets

The amount is fixed per vehicle, depending on gross weight, and already includes a share for AdBlue (Annex I of the decree-law):

Gross weight	Aid per vehicle
Up to 3,500 kg	€118.20
Over 3,500 kg up to 7,500 kg	€280.80
Over 7,500 kg and under 35,000 kg	€286.20
35,000 kg or more	€457.80

Buses and minibuses (categories M2 and M3) of public passenger transport operators receive €420 per vehicle, including those running on LNG or CNG (Art. 4).

Who can apply

• Companies and sole traders with an IMT licence for freight transport for hire or reward valid in the 3rd quarter of 2026 (Art. 2), and roadside assistance operators.
• The vehicle must be licensed by the IMT, run on fossil fuel, have its periodic inspection up to date and be in good standing with the IMT (Art. 3).
• Own-account transport is excluded. Agricultural cooperatives have their own aid, handled by IFAP.

Short deadline, and first come, first paid

• Applications are made on the IMT website, using a dedicated online form (Art. 21).
• The deadline is 10 working days from the day the form is made available. At the time of writing, the IMT aid page only dealt with corrections to the June aid: the form for this aid was not yet open.
• Payment is made once only, in the order in which applications are submitted (Art. 23(4)), and only up to the budget limit: €30 million for freight and roadside assistance (Art. 19). Anyone who leaves it to the end of the deadline risks finding the money gone.

What to have ready before the form opens

The decree-law sets out what the application must include (Art. 21(3)):

• company identification and NIF (Portuguese tax number);
• registration numbers of all eligible vehicles;
• bank details for the transfer;
• a declaration that the requirements are met;
• a declaration of other public aid received or applied for to cover the same costs.

Before that, it is worth checking that no vehicle has an expired inspection and that the company has no outstanding issues with the IMT: either of these will leave the vehicle or the company out.

Rules not to forget

• The aid cannot be combined with other aid for the same costs where the total would result in overcompensation; the excess is deducted (Art. 26). Where applicable, it counts towards the company’s de minimis ceiling (Art. 27).
• Amounts received on the basis of false declarations or without meeting the requirements must be repaid, with interest (Art. 29). Supporting documents must be kept (Art. 28).

At filling stations, from 17 October

The same decree-law requires filling stations to display, next to each pump, the per-litre reduction in ISP (the Portuguese tax on petroleum products) and IVA (VAT), with the wording “Redução ISP+IVA” (“ISP+VAT reduction”) (Art. 30). The obligation takes effect 10 days after publication, that is, on 17 October. A station that fails to do so, or displays wrong amounts, risks a fine of €1,000 to €3,000.

Total budget rises to €39.5 million

The September announcement mentioned €38 million. The decree-law adds half a million for agricultural cooperatives and one million for earth-moving and extractive industry machinery, for a total of €39.5 million. The freight transport share stays at €30 million.