Decree-Law No. 48/2022 on Trade Cooperatives.

This Decree-Law aims to establish the specific legal regime for Trade Cooperatives, creating mechanisms that allow greater accountability of commercialization cooperatives towards their members, namely establishing forms of associative participation and mechanisms capable of increasing transparency in their business organization. Trade cooperatives are those whose main object is: a) Acquiring, storing and providing members with the goods and services necessary for their activity; b) Place on the market the goods produced or processed by the members; c) Simultaneously develop these activities. The use of the cooperative form does not exempt from the obligation of carrying out the activity in accordance with the law, from obtaining authorizations and licenses and from other formalities required under the legal terms. Entities on which the aforementioned authorizations and licenses depend must take into account the special nature and social function of cooperatives.