Matosinhos, Porto, Portugal, Dec. 24, 2025 (Lusa) - The Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority is working "together with port and economic operators" to resolve the "congestion of goods containers" at the northern port of Leixões, the Ministry of Finance clarified in response to Lusa.

"Given the existence of constraints that stem almost entirely from reporting errors, despite all the efforts of the Tax and Customs Authority and operators, there is a congestion of containers at the port of Leixões," the ministry confirmed to Lusa on Tuesday evening, assuring that the Tax and Customs Authority "has already activated the continuity plan in the port of Leixões, as disclosed in Circular Letter 16061/2025 of 20 October (...) and continues to work together with port and economic operators to normalise activity in this particular port".

The Portuguese Freight Forwarders Association on Tuesday warned of "logistical chaos" at the port of Leixões due to a new customs system, with the concessionaire Yilport halting the reception of containers for export and freight forwarders calling for transitional measures.

The Ministry of Finance, which oversees the Tax and Customs Authority, clarified to Lusa that the implementation of the new integrated Transport and Goods System (SiMTeM) was scheduled for 21 October but, "following the identification of difficulties and constraints by various port and economic operators in adopting the new system", it was decided that its implementation should "take place in phases".

Guides for the implementation of the new system have been published since 2024 and a testing platform has been made available to economic agents, the ministry assured.

"Thus, SiMTeM has been in operation in the northern ports of Aveiro, Figueira da Foz and Viana do Castelo since 21 October, in airports since 21 November 2025 and, finally, in the remaining ports since 5 December 2025," specified the ministry, which assured that the Tax and Customs Authority "has always been available to provide the necessary support for those tests and, since SiMTeM came into operation, has supported and continues to support operators in resolving errors".

According to a statement from the Freight Forwarders Association sent to Lusa on Tuesday, "at the moment, the port of Leixões cannot receive containers for shipment, as the available capacity is full due to the number of containers waiting at the terminal."

"Chaos is the word that agents use - and repeat - to describe a situation that could easily have been avoided and which seriously penalises the domestic economy, its exports and imports, aggravated by the fact that we are talking about the largest seaport in the north of the country," the statement said.

According to the Freight Forwarders Association, the issue at stake is the "unprepared and hasty introduction by the Tax Authority of a new customs harmonisation platform", the Integrated System for Transport and Goods (SiMTeM), which has resulted in "cargo at a standstill and operations completely blocked, putting Christmas and vital supply chains at risk".

The concessionaire Yilport, which operates the Leixões Container Terminal in Matosinhos, in the region of Porto, also informed operators, according to a message accessed by Lusa, that it was compelled "to suspend the reception of export containers" as of today (Tuesday).

At issue is the "complex situation currently occurring at the Leixões Container Terminal (TCL), resulting from the accumulation of import containers in the yard, for several days now, without their exit authorisation being received by TCL/Yilport Leixões, and following the entry into force of the SiMTeM system at this port and various malfunctions and difficulties in processing exit authorisations by all those involved in the customs clearance process".

The leader of the Association of Official Customs Brokers, Mário Jorge, calls for "the resolution of the constraints on the exit of containers from port terminals".

The Freight Forwarders Association considers that "this process of bringing SiMTeM into operation has created a glaring and totally avoidable dysfunction", recalling that it was "adamant in warning, systematically and insistently, of the dangers of an unprepared introduction of the new platform for harmonising customs procedures".

On 5 December, the Freight Forwarders Association had already requested the postponement of the entry into operation of SiMTeM, which aims to harmonise customs procedures with Europe.

AFG/AYLS // AYLS

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