Good afternoon to you all and welcome to this week’s Briefing, which I want to begin with an apology about the article in the previous mailing about air quality in Portugal. For some reason when editing the article, the wrong information was included, suggesting that Portugal was one of the countries that meets the WHO air quality limits. In fact, this is not correct, and the original article stated correctly that Portugal is in the 2^nd tier of countries regarding air quality. As it’s me who finally edits the articles it’s clearly my mistake and I’ve no idea how that happened, but thank you to an eagle-eyed and concerned Member who questioned the article. My sincere apologies for the poor editing on that occasion. A timely reminder to me to check and recheck before authorising the mailing.

It was good to see some regular faces and also some new ones at the AGM last weekend. Whilst it is generally an administrative event, required by the Statutes and usually fairly short, it’s always pleasant to see Members who have taken the time to join the councils and staff and ask their questions. There is a brief report in the April edition of UPDATE.

One of the things that was discussed at the AGM, was the Advantage Directory in the CONNECT section of the website. One of the benefits of taking it wholly on-line, is that we can see how many visits it receives, and it’s been very rewarding to see that since we took it on-line, over 52,000 visits have been made to the various entries. We also discussed the fact that still there are far more entries from businesses in the Algarve than the rest of the country. We’ve suggested many times to Members that they could inform us of companies that are looking for foreign resident businesses and we’ll do the rest. It’s clear now that we have the statistics, just how many people are visiting the CONNECT on their laptops and mobile devices. So, if you know of a business, particularly outside of the Algarve, that is looking for free promotion to almost 10,000 people and who only have to give a discount to be included, pass their details to the office and we’ll do the rest.

As the rains are about to end and we get ready for the warmer weather, it’s time for those in more rural areas to start thinking about land-clearance. We have an article about it in the April edition of UPDATE, so be sure to check that out if you have land to clear around your property.

Beginning with news about our next presentation at the Living in the Algarve event this month, here is this week’s information:

Living in the Algarve

We will be present again at the Living in the Algarve seminar that takes place on Thursday the 24^th of April in Carvoeiro at the Tivoli hotel. To reserve a place at the event or for more information, visit their website https://www.livinginthealgarve.pt/

IRS declarations

A reminder that the submission of your Income Tax return (IRS) must be done online through the Finanças portal between the 1^st of April and the 30^th of June. We suggest that you do not submit it in the first days, as it has been common for there to be errors and some technical restrictions due to the high volume of requests in the first few days.

Members may already be aware that in an effort to strengthen funding for charitable, religious, cultural and environmental institutions, representing an important step forward in supporting organisations that play essential roles in society, that the IRS allocation (consignação de IRS) allows taxpayers to choose to allocate a portion of their tax to an entity of their choice. Instead of your IRS being entirely in the hands of the State, a portion is channelled by the State itself to support a cause of your choice.

This mechanism is simple: when filling out the Income Tax return (IRS declaration), you can select the entity you wish to benefit from, at no additional cost. The measure is optional and does not interfere with the amount of tax to be paid or received, but redirects a small portion of the revenue for specific purposes.

Only entities previously registered and authorised by the Tax and Customs Authority can receive the IRS allocation. To check the complete list of eligible entities, please login in to www.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt and follow the steps:

Dados agregado IRS – Comunicar Entidade a Consignar IRS/IVA and click on the search icon to select the institution you wish to donate to.

ETA requirements for EU citizens

A reminder that the regulations for EU citizens travelling to the UK came into force this week and citizens of 34 European countries will also now need to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to enter the UK. More information on who can apply for the ETA and the process for doing so can be found HERE.

Be aware that this relates to your nationality as shown on your passport and not your country of residence.

Alojamento Local registration

We have been advised that the government platform for registering AL insurances on-line is now being tested and once any issues are ironed out will be open for registration. A reminder that to ensure that the registration of your Alojamento Local remains valid, you must submit proof of public liability insurance when you are assigned the AL registration number before you start your activity, and you must also send proof whenever you renew or change the insurance.

The proof of public liability insurance needs to be uploaded every year. Once the pre-launch test is complete, we will include information in these mailings.

PSP radars

The Public Security Police (PSP) shared a list of some of the places where speed control operations are planned in April. In total, there are more than a hundred locations across Portugal, Azores and Madeira, where authorities will carry out prevention and inspection actions.

On the PSP website you can find information by district, where the PSP radars will be and on what dates.

These are just some of the planned operations and that throughout the month it is likely that there will be speed control in other areas without prior notification from the PSP.

AFPOP Presents…

A reminder that the AFPOP Presents programme in May and June is focused on Women's Health - Breast Wellness. This topic it will be presented twice in the Algarve area. The first one it will be held in Lagos on the 9th of May and the second one in Tavira on 9th of June (both in the morning time) in conjunction with Associação Oncológica do Algarve. For those interested, please register via email: apoio@afpop.com

Holidays in April

Good Friday (Sexta-feira Santa) on the 18^th of April and the Freedom Day (Dia da Liberdade) on the 25^th of April are national holidays. Easter (Páscoa) falls on 20^th of April.

Please note that some public services might close during the afternoon (Thursday 17^th and 24^th), due to the “holiday period” given by the Government, so be prepared if you intend to visit any public entity on those days also.

Satellite Offices

If you need advice or assistance, wish to introduce a new Member to the Association, need to renew your subscription or just have a general query, please pass by and see us. We ask you to make an appointment and to inform us about your enquiry, so staff can come prepared to assist you. Please contact the afpop office to make an appointment on 282 458 509 or info@afpop.com.

PLEASE NOTE that due to other requirements, the Lagos satellite day has been changed in April to Monday instead of the usual Wednesday. So, the next dates of the Satellites are:

Lagos - Monday 28^th of April between 10h00 and 12h30 (premises of MediLagos on R. José Ferreira Canelas, which is behind the Câmara building)
Almancil - Tuesday 29^th of Aprilbetween 10h00 and 12h30 (premises of MEDAL Seguros)

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