The idea of tax arbitration may seem unusual to commercial arbitration practitioners. In Portugal, however, it has already proved successful.
As part of the research project “Tax Arbitration in the European Union”, funded by the National Science Centre, a research team from the Centre for Comparative Private Law at the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences visited Lisbon from 29 September to 3 October 2025.
During the study visit, the team met:
- Legal practitioners;
- Academics;
- Representatives of the Arbitration Centre for Administrative Matters (CAAD), where Portuguese tax disputes are resolved;
- Judges; and
- Representatives of the Portuguese tax authorities.
These meetings gave the team valuable insight into how the Portuguese system works in practice. They also showed which lessons may be relevant if tax arbitration is introduced in other countries. We would like to thank all our Portuguese hosts and partners for their time, openness and the experience they shared.
