Decree-Law No. 23/2014 requires Portuguese promoters to refund ticket prices if the programme or headline artists are replaced. What it doesn't say is what counts towards that price, and that's the gap DECO has wedged itself into.
What the law says today
Article 9, "Restituição do preço dos bilhetes" (refund of ticket prices), requires the promoter to refund the amount corresponding to the ticket price if the show is not held at the announced venue, date and time, if the programme or headline artists are replaced, or if it is interrupted. There is no refund when the interruption results from force majeure confirmed after the show has started, and the law specifies what counts as such: unforeseeable events beyond the promoter's control that directly prevent the show from taking place, such as fires, floods, cyclones or earthquakes.
Paragraph 5 sets the deadline: 30 days from notification of the IGAC's decision. And paragraph 4 divides up the roles in a way worth reading carefully: it falls to the IGAC to verify, at the request of any interested party, the conditions on which non-refund depends. Article 6 also requires the price to be clearly displayed alongside the programme, the promoter's identity, the date, the time and the age rating, both at the venue and on online platforms. The consolidated text sits in the PGD Lisboa legal database, and it isn't the only thing anyone selling tickets in Portugal has to comply with.
What DECO is asking for
In July 2026, DECO sent the Minister for Culture, Youth and Sport, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, proposals to revise the regime, in force since 2014. It wants dedicated rules for multi-day festivals; a definition of "headline artist" covering both those featured in promotional material and those on the main stage; platforms showing the total price with mandatory costs upfront; joint liability for promoters, platforms and agencies; mandatory promoter insurance covering refunds in the event of insolvency; protection for conferences and summits aimed at consumers; and fines proportional to turnover. According to Observador, DECO argues that this lack of definition has let some promoters dodge the refund obligation when a line-up change or an artist's absence doesn't clearly fit the grounds for reimbursement.
Earlier, in March, and according to DECO in an analysis published by Jornal Económico, Portugal's four leading online ticketing platforms — FNAC, Ticketline, BOL and MEO Blueticket — expressly exclude booking fees, service charges or operating costs from refunds when a show is cancelled. DECO put those charges at between 2 and 5 euros per ticket depending on the event's value, filed a complaint with the Public Prosecutor's Office, asked the IGAC to assess the matter, and reported "drip pricing" and pressure to buy insurance or add-on services to the ASAE.
Why it matters
The dispute comes down to one word. The law requires refunding the amount corresponding to the ticket price and doesn't define what makes it up; whether the booking fee is included is DECO's position, not an IGAC ruling.
Until that's clarified, the split is decided by the contract between promoter and platform. It's worth setting out in writing in the refund policy, the way Portugal has already spelled out the companion ticket.