Information services exempted from accounts certified by state secrecy

The Government has approved Decree-Law no. 172/2026, of August 31, which amends Decree-Law no. 192/2015, of September 11, which approves the Accounting Standardization System for Public Administrations (SNC-AP). The regulation adapts the accounting regime to the reality of the Information System of the Portuguese Republic (SIRP) and state secrecy, exempting the system’s entities from presenting legally certified accounts. The diploma was published in the 1st series of the Diário da República, no. 168, of August 31, 2026.

The measure responds to the risk that the legal certification of accounts, under general terms, would imply access to classified expenditures and other sensitive information capable of revealing the nature and means of the activities of the intelligence services. The diploma was approved in the Council of Ministers on July 9, 2026, promulgated by the President of the Republic, António José Martins Seguro, on August 21, and countersigned by the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, on August 24, entering into force on the day following its publication.

What changes in the SNC-AP

Decree-Law no. 172/2026 constitutes the third amendment to Decree-Law no. 192/2015, already modified by Decree-Laws no. 85/2016, of December 21, and no. 33/2018, of May 15. The amendment affects articles 3 and 10 and adds the new article 5-A, as well as annex IV to the diploma.

The SIRP includes the Secretary-General of the SIRP, the Strategic Defense Intelligence Service, and the Security Intelligence Service, as well as their respective data centers and common structures. Its activity is subject to the state secrecy regime, under the terms of Organic Law no. 2/2014, of August 6, and Law no. 30/84, of September 5.

Exemption from certification and new management report

Under the new wording of paragraph 3 of article 10, entities integrated into the SIRP are exempt from presenting legally certified accounts, becoming subject to the provisions of the new article 5-A. This article creates a management report with the following characteristics:

• Prepared by the end of the first semester of the following year, including financial and non-financial statements;
• It is classified in nature, produced on paper, and respects the principles of responsibility, transparency, and accountability;
• It is submitted annually, on paper, to the SIRP Supervisory Board for review and oversight;
• It is signed by the highest-ranking official of the entity, even if they have already ceased their functions, and any refusal to sign must be justified.

Annex IV defines the content of the report, which covers the entity’s framework, objectives and execution levels, human resources and aggregated economic-financial information, risk assessment and regulatory compliance, recommendations and corrections, and perspectives with a statement of responsibility.

Oversight preserved

The Government justifies the solution by the fact that the SIRP Supervisory Council meets the appropriate institutional and functional conditions to ensure the necessary oversight, while simultaneously ensuring the preservation of state secrets. The body was consulted during the drafting process of the decree, which safeguards the principles of transparency, legality, and the pursuit of the public interest.

The regulation represents a balance between accountability and the protection of sensitive information, transferring to the SIRP Supervisory Council the competence to assess and oversee the management of intelligence services, replacing the legal certification of publicly accessible accounts.

Source: Diário da República, 1st series, no. 168, August 31, 2026 (official reference: Decree-Law no. 172/2026).