Electronic auction (leilão eletrónico)
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A leilão eletrónico is a sale held online over a limited period, in which bidders raise the price and the highest offer wins.
The leilão eletrónico is now the preferred way of selling seized property in Portugal, and there are two separate official systems.
Portal das Finanças. Used for sales in tax enforcement. The auction runs for 15 days and the base value is 70% of the property's value (CPPT article 248). See Tax Authority auctions.
e-Leilões. The platform of the Order of Solicitors and Enforcement Agents (OSAE), used in civil enforcement (CPC article 837) and also in insolvency proceedings, where the law likewise prefers this method (CIRE article 164). See e-Leilões.
On e-Leilões, if a bid arrives in the last five minutes, the end of the auction is pushed back five minutes, and so on. The auction closes only when five minutes pass with no new bid (rules, article 7).
Example
Illustrative example: an e-Leilões auction ends at 10:00. At 9:58 a bid of €90,000 comes in. The end moves to 10:03. At 10:01 another arrives, for €91,000; the end moves to 10:06. Nobody bids again and the auction closes at 10:06.
In practice, at an auction
You must authenticate to bid: on the Portal das Finanças, with your portal credentials; on e-Leilões, with a Portuguese Citizen Card or Chave Móvel Digital, or by registering with a notarised signature. cannot be withdrawn. Holding the highest bid does not yet make you the owner: payment of the price and taxes follows, and only then is the issued. Guide: How e-Leilões works.