Industrial establishment – requesting an amendment

The amendment request must be submitted before any amendments are made to an industrial establishment, to check whether there is an applicable procedure.

Amendments that require a procedure cannot be submitted without authorisation.

The amendment request can only be submitted if the following criteria are met for the establishment:

• Installation certificate
• Installation and operation certificate
• Operation certificate
• Authorised operation

The documents that need to be submitted vary depending on the procedure applicable to the amendment (with or without prior inspection visit, or simple prior notification). When completing the registration form on the SIR platform, you will be automatically informed which procedure applies to you, based on your answers.

For amendments subject to a procedure involving a prior inspection visit and without a prior inspection visit, you will need to describe what amendment is to be made, and provide the necessary up-to-date documents for the intended amendment.

If the amendment involves a procedure (with or without a prior inspection visit), you may need to submit the documents described below, should they need to be modified because of the amendment request.

• Detailed description of the processes and respective plant diagrams

• List of machinery and equipment to be installed (quantity and designation)

• Quantity of company equipment available

• Identification and assessment of potential occupational risks and description of the organisation and functioning of the occupational health and safety services

• Identification and qualitative characterisation of emission sources from gaseous, liquid and waste effluents and, where applicable, associated treatment systems

• Identification and characterisation of the main sources of noise emissions, indicating distances from residential buildings, hospitals and schools near the perimeter of the industrial establishment and, where applicable under the terms of the General Noise Regulations, a quantitative assessment of outside noise and prevention and control measures

• Drawing representing the entire area used by the establishment, including buildings, amenities and outdoor spaces assigned to the activity, on a scale not less than 1:2000, indicating the locations of production areas, warehouses, workshops, storage, external perimeters, wastewater treatment and waste storage or treatment systems

• Elevations (representation of the vertical structures of a building) and cross section of the establishment, indicating the ceiling heights and dimensions of chimneys, where applicable
• Plan showing the location of:

• production machinery and equipment;

• where raw materials, liquid, solid or gaseous fuels and finished products are stored;

• burning, power-driven or steam production facilities, pressurised equipment and cooling system facilities;

• sanitary, communal and office areas;

• waste storage and, where applicable, waste treatment systems; and

• the origins of own water, wastewater discharge sites and their respective treatment systems, where applicable

• Documents relating to energy, locations and pressured equipment or vessels

• Proof of application for a Single Environmental Permit (Título Único Ambiental, TUA).

For amendments to type 3 establishments, which are subject to simple prior notification, the description of the intended amendment must be sent together with the documents described below, should they need to be modified because of the amendment request:

• permit to use the property for industrial purposes or certificate confirming tacit approval or declaration of compatibility for industrial use of the usage permit/certificate of a building or autonomous unit intended for use as housing (if an industrial establishment covered by Part 2-A of Annex I to the SIR), or declaration of compatibility for industrial use of the usage permit/certificate of a building or autonomous unit intended for trade, services or storage (if an industrial establishment covered by Part 2-B of Annex I to the SIR), where applicable

• descriptive record, including a description of manufacturing processes, list of machinery, characterisation of solid, liquid and gaseous effluents, among other elements

• plans with the appropriate markings up and captions, demonstrating the layout of the industrial establishment

• formal undertaking of responsibility pursuant to Article 33.3 of the SIR declaring knowledge of and compliance with the relevant legal requirements.

If the industrial activity involves gold or assay work. the following must also be submitted:

• approval of the assayer’s stamp (marca de responsabilidade)
• professional certificate of the technical manager of the smelter tester.

Before sending a simple prior notification, you must ensure that you have all the relevant licences and permissions.

This information can be found at the end of the Industrial Licensing Interactive Guide.

The cost of the request depends on what procedure needs to be used. For example, for amendments to type 3 establishments (when the municipal council has responsibility), the fee is determined by the local authorities.

If the municipal council does not state the fee within five days, the amendment is exempt from payment.

The request is submitted online on the Responsible Industry System (SIR) platform.

1. Go to the reserved area of the SIR platform and log in with your Digital Mobile Key (CMD) or Citizen Card.

• If you do not yet have a Digital Mobile Key, find out how to activate your Digital Mobile Key.
• If you want to use your citizen card, find out how to sign in with a Citizen Card.

2. Select the ‘Pedido de Alteração’ (‘Amendment request’) service.
3. Complete the Registration Form (Formulário de Enquadramento, FE)

• This may include completing the SILiAmb environmental system.

• This form asks questions about the situation before and after the amendment.

Based on your answers, the system will tell you:

• the type of establishment after amendment (1, 2 or 3);
  the type of procedure applicable (with or without inspection visit, or simple prior notification);
  the coordinating entity responsible after amendment;

• the applicable legal regulations; and

• timescales and fee payable.

4. Complete the Details Form (Formulário de Detalhe, FD).

• Describe the establishment and activity in more detail.

• Attach all the necessary documents.

• Send the request and pay the fee.