Black Friday in Portugal: Your Rights on Discounts and Returns

Black Friday in Portugal falls on Friday 27 November 2026, and any shop that advertises a price cut must compare it with the lowest price it charged for the same product in the previous 30 days. Online purchases can be returned within 14 days without a reason, and new goods carry a 3-year legal guarantee.

These rules come from Portuguese law that applies to every sale, not from a special Black Friday regime. The details below are as of November 2026 and are general information, not legal advice.

What counts as a real discount in Portugal?

A discount is only real if the new price is lower than the lowest price the seller charged for that product in the 30 consecutive days before the reduction. This is the “lowest price previously charged” (preço mais baixo anteriormente praticado) defined in Decreto-Lei 70/2007, the law on sales with price reductions.

The 30-day reference was introduced by Decreto-Lei 109-G/2021, which brought the EU’s 2019 consumer “Omnibus” directive into Portuguese law and took effect on 28 May 2022. Before that, shops compared against a 90-day period. The rule covers physical stores and, with adaptations, online and other distance sales.

• Labels and signs must show the new price and the lowest price of the previous 30 days. A percentage is optional.
• If a shop raises a discount in steps without a break (10%, then 20%, then 30%), the reference stays the price before the first cut.
• For a product the shop never sold before, the reference is the price it will charge after the promotion ends.
• The seller must be able to prove the reference price with documents.
• A shop cannot bring in new stock bought after the promotion starts and sell it at the promotional price.

The practical test: if a product was €79 three weeks ago, €99 last week and is now “€79, 20% off”, the label breaks the rule, because the lowest price in the last 30 days was €79.

Is Black Friday a “sale” under Portuguese law?

Usually not in the legal sense. Portuguese law recognises three kinds of reduced-price selling, and each has its own conditions.

All three must follow the same 30-day reference price rule. The food and economic safety authority ASAE (Autoridade de Segurança Alimentar e Económica) supervises compliance, and breaches are treated as serious economic offences.

How long do I have to return something I bought online?

You have 14 calendar days from the day you receive the goods to cancel an online or phone purchase without giving a reason. This right of withdrawal (direito de livre resolução) comes from Decreto-Lei 24/2014, the law on distance and off-premises contracts.

1. Tell the seller in writing within the 14 days, by email, the seller’s own form or any other way you can prove later.
2. Send the item back. You usually pay the return postage if the seller told you so before you bought; if the seller did not inform you, the seller pays.
3. Expect a refund of everything you paid, including standard delivery, within 14 days of telling the seller. The seller may wait until it receives the item or your proof of sending it.

If the seller never told you about the right of withdrawal, the deadline is extended by up to 12 months. Some purchases are excluded, such as made-to-order items, sealed hygiene products once opened, and tickets or bookings for a specific date.

In a physical shop there is no legal right to return an item just because you changed your mind. Exchanges then depend on the shop’s own policy, so ask about it at the till and keep the receipt.

What if a product bought on Black Friday breaks?

New goods bought from a business in Portugal carry a legal guarantee (garantia legal) of 3 years from delivery, under Decreto-Lei 84/2021, in force since 1 January 2022. The seller, not only the manufacturer, is responsible for defects.

• You can ask for repair or replacement first, and in some cases a price reduction or a refund.
• For a defect that appears in the first 30 days, you can ask for an immediate replacement or to cancel the purchase.
• For defects that show up in the first 2 years, the law presumes they existed at delivery; in the third year, you may have to show that they did.
• Discounted products have the same guarantee as full-price ones. A shop may sell a product as faulty at a lower price only if it states the defect clearly.

Keep the invoice. Asking for an invoice with your tax number also counts toward your IRS expense deductions; see our guide to e-Fatura and receipts with your NIF.

How do I complain about a fake discount or a refused refund?

Start with the seller, then use the complaints book (Livro de Reclamações). Every shop must have the paper book and give it to you on request, and businesses selling to consumers must also be on the electronic version at livroreclamacoes.pt.

1. Write to the seller with your order number, the problem and what you want (repair, refund, correct price).
2. If that fails, file an entry in the paper or electronic complaints book. The business has 15 working days to reply to an electronic complaint, and the complaint also goes to the regulator for that sector.
3. For a fake reference price, the regulator is ASAE, which can open an offence case.
4. For money disputes, use a consumer arbitration centre (centro de arbitragem de conflitos de consumo); Lisbon has its own centre, and the procedure is cheap or free for consumers.
5. DECO, the private consumer association, also gives advice and handles complaints.

For a purchase from a seller in another EU country, the European Consumer Centre in Portugal helps with cross-border disputes. The text of each law, with its later amendments, is on Diário da República.

What should I check before paying on Black Friday?

Check the seller as carefully as the price. Fake shops and payment scams rise around big sales days.

• Look for the company name, tax number (NIF) and a physical address on the site, plus a link to the electronic complaints book.
• Note the price of the items you want now, so you can compare it on 27 November.
• Read the delivery and return terms before paying, including who pays return postage.
• Pay by card or a method with buyer protection. Never send money by MB WAY to a stranger to “release” an order; our guide to Multibanco and MB WAY explains how payment references work.

Bottom line

The 30-day rule gives you a simple way to judge a Black Friday label: write down prices in early November and compare. The strongest rights are on online orders, where you can cancel within 14 days, while in a shop your protection is the 3-year guarantee rather than a free return.

FAQ

When is Black Friday 2026 in Portugal?

Friday 27 November 2026, the day after US Thanksgiving. Many Portuguese retailers run offers for a week or more around it, and Cyber Monday is 30 November.

Can a shop refuse to exchange a discounted item?

If the item is not faulty and you bought it in person, yes: exchanges for a change of mind are a shop policy, not a legal right. If the item is faulty, the 3-year legal guarantee applies in full, whatever the discount.

Does the 14-day return right apply to marketplace sellers?

It applies to professional sellers, including those on marketplaces. It does not apply to private individuals selling second-hand items to other individuals.

Who checks whether discounts are genuine?

ASAE inspects shops and websites selling to consumers in Portugal. You can report a suspected fake discount through the complaints book or directly to ASAE.