The platforms’ 5% contribution, explained from the inside

The short answer

Since 1 September 2026, every electronic platform manager pays a regulation and supervision contribution equal to 5% of the intermediation fees it charges across all its operations (article 30(2)). It does not apply to the trip price, but to the platform’s commission. It is calculated every month by the platform itself, through self-assessment, and comes with a monthly report to the AMT. The law places the payment on platform managers and says nothing about passing it on to operators, drivers or passengers.

What it was in 2018 and what changed

The contribution is not new. It already existed in the original version of Law no. 45/2018, with the same purpose it has today: "to offset the administrative costs of regulating and monitoring the respective activities and to encourage the achievement of national urban mobility objectives" (article 30(1)).

The difference was in the amount. In 2018 the law only set a range, between a minimum of 0.1% and a maximum of 2% of the intermediation fee, and left the exact percentage to an implementing regulation (portaria) by the government ministers responsible for finance and urban transport. The 2026 revision takes that leeway away from the Government and writes a "single percentage of 5%" into the law itself. Even compared with the maximum the old law allowed, the percentage is two and a half times higher.

The calculation base: the commission, not the price

This is the point that causes the most confusion. The 5% is not calculated on what the passenger pays. It is calculated on "the amounts of the intermediation fee charged by the electronic platform manager across all its operations, under paragraph 3 of article 15". In other words, on the commission the platform keeps on each trip.

Since that commission is capped at 25% of the trip value excluding VAT (article 15(3)), it is possible to work out the maximum weight of the contribution relative to the price: 5% of 25% is 1.25% of the trip value excluding VAT. If the platform charges a lower commission, the contribution falls in the same proportion. An example with round numbers helps show the order of magnitude.

For every thousand such trips, the platform hands over 125 euros. It is a small fraction of each trip, but added up over a whole month’s volume, across all operations, it is significant revenue for the bodies that receive it.

How it is paid: monthly self-assessment

The payment mechanism, set out in article 30(3), is almost the same as in 2018. The platform manager itself calculates how much it owes, based on the intermediation fees charged on each service provided in the previous month, and pays "by the last day of the month following the one to which it relates". For trips made in September 2026, the calculation is done in October and payment must be made by 31 October.

What is new in 2026 is what happens when the platform does not comply. Without self-assessment, the AMT calculates the amount due and issues the payment slips, "on the basis of an estimate of the intermediation fees charged, made by the AMT from services provided in previous periods". The 2018 law had no such safety valve: without self-assessment, all that remained was correction by the AMT under general rules. That power to correct the self-assessment remains (paragraph 6), as does enforced collection through tax enforcement proceedings, in which the certificate issued by the AMT serves as an enforceable title (paragraph 7).

The monthly report to the AMT

Regardless of payment, the platform manager must send the AMT, every month and by the end of the following month, information on the activity carried out: "the number of trips, the amount invoiced individually and the intermediation fee actually charged" (article 30(4)). The format is a form approved by the AMT’s board of directors and published on the AMT website.

That information must be backed by the invoices issued, and the AMT may request supporting evidence and carry out whatever audits it deems necessary (paragraph 5). Since the report is made trip by trip, with the amount invoiced and the commission actually charged, it also gives the AMT the means to check, in practice, whether the 25% cap on the intermediation fee is being respected. This report to the AMT should not be confused with theIMT data-sharing platform, which is used to validate operators, drivers and vehicles.

What happens to those who do not comply

Article 25(2) provides for three offences linked to the contribution, all with a fine of 250 to 4,500 euros for natural persons and 5,000 to 44,000 euros for legal persons:

• paragraph (cc): missing the deadline for sending the monthly report under paragraph 4;
• paragraph (dd): failing to pay the contribution within the deadline in paragraph 3;
• paragraph (ee): failing to provide the supporting information referred to in paragraph 5.

They are attributable to the platform manager (article 25-B(3)) and are processed by the AMT (article 25-A(1)(b)). In 2018 it was the IMT that processed all offences under the regime, and the maximum fines for legal persons stopped at 15,000 euros. Attempt and negligence are punishable. See the full list of fines.

Where the money goes

The revenue split has not changed since 2018 (article 30(8)): 40% to the Public Transport Service Fund, created by Law no. 52/2015, 30% to the AMT and 30% to the IMT. Do not confuse this with where the fines go, which is a different article and one that did change: fine proceeds go 60% to the State, 20% to the IMT and 20% to the public fund financing mobility and transport measures (article 28), whereas in 2018 that last share went to the enforcement body.

Can it be passed on to the driver or the passenger?

The law does not answer this question. Article 30 says who is required to pay, the platform managers, and contains no rule on passing the contribution on, either to allow it or to prohibit it. Any claim to the contrary has no support in the legal text.

What the law does set are the limits framing the price and the commission, whatever reason is given for changing them:

• the intermediation fee may not exceed 25% of the trip value, excluding VAT (article 15(3)), so the contribution is no justification for going beyond that cap;
• the passenger must see the price calculation formula, with the total price, the intermediation fee applied and the applicable rates itemised (article 15(4)(a));
• the electronic invoice must itemise VAT and "other taxes or fees" and show how the price was calculated (article 15(8)(d) and (e));
• the platform must ensure a pricing policy compatible with competition law (article 20(4)).

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