A non-resident is, by law, a person that may not spend more than five months and 29 days, consecutive or not, in a country that is not of their residence, for example, a British person in Portugal.

During this period one may use any vehicle registered outside of the country on Portuguese roads as long as the vehicle is duly registered in the name of the driver, accompanied by all the necessary legal documentation, is brought into the country by its rightful owners, is used for private means, is driven by its rightful proprietors, and is not used for a profession or commercial activity.

While the definition of commercial activity may create a topic of widespread debate, it is, in its simplest form, any act that generates financial income, including revenue obtained at flea markets and car-boot sales.

All so-called commercial activities being conducted via a foreign-registered vehicle must either commence or conclude outside of Portugal.

This was confirmed to The Portugal News by the head of Portimão’s Fiscal Brigade, and is also stipulated under law decree number 264/93.

No transportation of goods or services rendered, starting ending inside Portugal, may be conducted via a vehicle with a foreign registration plate, the law continues.

Mr George Albert Butler, resident in Newark, England, was staying in Silves, Portugal, in a caravan he owns and which he visits on an on-off basis, travelling with his UK-registered car when he was fined under the above law.

After deciding to fill a trailer with used and second hand household paraphernalia, he made his way to a car-boot sale in Fuzeta.

As he exited the A22 motorway by the Fuzeta/ Moncarapacho turn-off, he was pulled over by road traffic officials during a random ‘Stop’ operation, where he had his boot and trailer checked by police, and was subsequently given a written warning for using a foreign-registered vehicle to conduct ‘commerce’. His documents were confiscated, leaving Mr. Butler with no choice than to make his way to the customs office in Faro, as instructed by the police, to see what action was to be taken against him. With his car technically ‘arrested’, Mr Butler was left with two options: matriculate his car in Portugal, which would cost an estimated €3,000, or pay a €150 fine plus additional costs and immediately remove the car from the country.