Amendments to the Regime on Packaged Retail and Insurance-Based Investment Products (PRIIPs): from prior approval to prior notification

Decree-Law No. 134/2026, of 9 July, amended the legal regime governing packaged retail investment products and insurance-based investment products, approved in Annex II to Law No. 35/2018, of 20 July. The amendments focus mainly on advertising relating to PRIIPs and on the prior notification of the key information document, seeking to make the procedures more proportionate and efficient, without removing the supervisory powers of the competent authorities.

What changes in PRIIPs advertising?

The main change consists of replacing the prior approval regime for advertising messages with a prior notification regime addressed to the authority responsible for supervising the advertised PRIIPs. The competent authority may object to the dissemination of the advertisement within 10 business days of receipt of the duly completed notification.

The prior notification must be accompanied by the advertising message, the material elements relating to the media to be used for its disclosure, and the key information document, usually referred to as the KID, relating to the PRIIP being advertised.

Supervision and intervention powers

The absence of opposition from the competent authority does not amount to a definitive validation of the advertisement. The authorities retain their intervention powers whenever, due to subsequent facts or prior facts not considered at the time the notification was assessed, circumstances arise that are liable to affect the advertisement’s compliance with the applicable legal requirements.

The advertiser must immediately cease disseminating the advertising message if any non-compliance is detected or if any of the circumstances justifying intervention by the competent authority arises, even if the authority did not object to the initial notification.

Non-complex collective investment undertakings

The new prior notification regime for advertising does not apply to collective investment undertakings that are non-complex financial instruments, under the Portuguese Securities Code and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/565. This exclusion reflects a more proportionate approach, guided by the complexity and risk of the products.

Key information document (KID)

The making available of PRIIPs in Portuguese territory remains subject to the prior notification of the respective KID to the competent authority. The default statutory period remains at least two business days before the intended date for making the product available, but the competent authority may now set, by regulation, a longer period, up to a maximum of five business days.

The same principle applies to new versions of the KID, namely when they result from the review provided for in Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014: the new version must be notified in advance to the competent authority, within the applicable statutory or regulatory advance notice period.

Entry into force and transitional regime

The amendments enter into force on 14 July 2026.

Prior advertising approval procedures pending as at the date on which Decree-Law No. 134/2026 enters into force will continue to follow the previous regime. This solution avoids the retroactive application of the new procedural model to proceedings already under way.

Practical impact for the market

In practice, entities advertising PRIIPs now benefit from a more streamlined procedure, no longer depending on express prior approval before disclosing the advertisement. However, this simplification does not reduce the level of responsibility of advertisers, who must ensure, from the outset of dissemination, that the advertisement is truthful, up to date, clear, objective, lawful, appropriate and consistent with the KID and other applicable legal requirements.

The entities covered should therefore review their internal procedures for approving advertising materials, ensure the timely preparation of the elements to be notified to the competent authority, and monitor any regulations that may extend the prior notification period for the KID up to five business days.