Notarial Fees, Taxation of Acts and Procedural Practice
Core concepts
Understand the fee schedule (tabela de emolumentos), calculation bases (act value, complexity), stamp duty (imposto de selo) and other taxes triggered by notarial acts, and procedural practice: file organisation, protocol, bookkeeping, and issuance of certidões. Know who pays fees and when, and the consequences of under-declared values.
Traps in questions
Traps: assuming fees are freely negotiated - they follow the regulated table; confusing notarial fee with tax (both may apply); and overlooking that under-declaration of value can trigger tax adjustment and penalties. Questions also test whether a notary can refuse to issue a certified copy - generally the notary must issue it to entitled persons.
Rule of thumb
Two ledgers: fees and taxes. Compute emoluments from the table and stamp duty from the taxable base; never conflate them.
Worked example
A sale declared at a value below market may still attract stamp duty on the higher assessed value; the notary must apply the correct taxable base and warn the parties of the risk of adjustment.