A distressing topic for many caught in the unenviable position of having their houses and goods auctioned off to pay their debts but good news has been announced by the Justice Minister of a computerised auction system open to all.
Gone will be the days of dodgy deals with properties and goods being sold off cheap to those in the know. The new computerised system lets everyone know what is up for sale and when bids need to be in.
"This simple tool introduces transparency, expands knowledge, promotes equal opportunities and shortens the process time for the sale of the seized property,” said Justice Minister, Francisca Van Dunem, (pictured) at a meeting of the Solicitors and Execution Agents (OSAE) in Lisbon.
The Minister stressed that the introduction the new electronic auction system is launched to back up other measures that have simplified the role of enforcement agents, namely the seizure of bank accounts by electronic means which since it started in December 2013, has enabled the nabbing of €500 million.
The minister admitted that there is still much work to be done as 65% of court cases relate to debt collection but the courts now have been given the quickest way to resolve this type of litigation.
Van Dunem pointed out the advantages of an electronic auction in terms of transparency, neutrality in terms of sale of goods and open access for everyone.
Houses, land, cars and other property seized by enforcement officers will now be sold on the new electronic auction website, with photos and detailed information of the lots to be sold. This method will end the delays created by a creaking court system and will allow quick payment to creditors.
The electronic auction will replace the old sealed bid system which can take up to two years to arrange and is littered with examples of debtors getting a raw deal due to corruption and insider knowledge being used to limit the field of bidders and thus reduce the prices obtained.
How the new system differs from the currently available 'Venda de Bens Penhorados' section of the Financas website can be judged when the new service goes live.
The president of the OSAE admitted that auctions currently arranged through the court system, as well as wasting time, resulted in the sale of goods and property often for a price much lower than their actual value as in practice only a few people know that goods and properties were up for sale.
With the electronic auction, instead of having to sell assets at a loss, enforcement officers expect that due to online listings for seized properties, higher prices will be obtained and claims of corruption will end.
First home exemption for State debts
A law that prevents homes being sold off to clear tax debts was been passed in parliament in April this year. The decree law now has to be approved by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
The long-awaited law will protect those who have fallen into debt and allow them to stay on in their homes without the gnawing fear that the State will seize and auction off their houses.
The law, when passed, does not mean that homeowners are excused their debt to the State but they will be given time to repay debts, just like those who live in rented property.
Nearly 5,900 families had their homes seized between 2014 and 2015 due to action by Portugal’s tax authority under the Passos Coelho coalition regime where money came first and families second.
The new electroic auction announced by Van Dunem should come into force just as the number of seized properties starts to reduce.
This electroic auction scheme is a good one though and the minister now needs to work on other ways of freeing up the court system to work its way through an unbelievable backlog that has risen due to the massive increase in debt cases.
Important civil cases are taking years even to be listed in Portugal's courts with many involved in the process losing the will to live, witnesses and plaintifs inconveniently dying and case lawyers retiring.
This national disgrace has been flagged up by foreign companies considering investing in Portugal but are deterred by the prospect that, should recourse to the law become necessary, there is little chance of a hearing and settlement in this life or the next.
Until the new site is runnning, the current 'sale of seized goods' website is operational at
https://vendas.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt/bens/
See also: http://www.algarvedailynews.com/news/8521-first-homes-protected-from-tax-debt-seizure
