Additional support measures for populations affected by the wildfires that occurred in September 2024

Council of Ministers Resolution No. 126-A/2024, of September 18th, declared a state of calamity following the wildfires that broke out on September 15th, 2024, in the northern and central regions of continental Portugal.

Law N. 39/2024, of November 7th, establishes additional support measures for the populations affected by the wildfires that occurred in September 2024, as materialized in Decree-Law No. 59-A/2024, of September 27th.

Thus, pursuant to the aforementioned legal diploma, it is established that:

• Free transfers of products suitable for feeding livestock, poultry, and other animals, exclusively or primarily intended for agricultural work, slaughter, or reproduction, carried out between September 5th and December 31st, 2024, to taxpayers engaged in agricultural production and residing or having their tax domicile in the areas covered by the territorial scope delimited in accordance with Council of Ministers Resolution No. 130-A/2024, of September 27th, are exempt from VAT;
• The granting of any financial aid and the conclusion of contracts or protocols between local authorities and the Regional Coordination and Development Commissions (CCDR, I.P.) aimed at the attribution and management of the support granted pursuant to Decree-Law No. 59-A/2024, of September 27th, are not subject to prior authorization by the government members responsible for the areas of finance and local authorities, to be published in the Diário da República.
• Acts and contracts entered into under the exceptional public procurement regime provided for in Decree-Law No. 59-A/2024, of September 27th, are classified as of urgent necessity resulting from unforeseeable events by the contracting entity, for the purposes of paragraph 5 of article 45 of Law No. 98/97, of August 26th, as currently amended, exempting them from prior approval by the Court of Auditors.

This law entered into force on November 8th, 2024, and has retroactive effect to September 15th, 2024.