en 
I had replied earlier to say that I could not release my parcel and had tried phoning them, no answer, my emails were being blocked and I could not successfully access their website to retrieve my order.
I have since sent a registered letter to CTT in Lisbon with copies of all the relevant information they required. I have used the tracking number at it looked like it was returned to my local Post Office in Alcantarilha. I then spoke with a call centre in Lisbon to verify this and he informed me that when my letter arrived at Ctt, it was refused to be accepted and was sent back to Alcantarilha. He then tracked my original parcel and informed that it had left Portugal and would be sent back to sender in UK. I didn’t even get a chance to pay for any tax fee.
I would like you to consider doing a really big article on the process of CTT, as I feel it is an appalling system and needs to have radical changes. As an ex pat living here in the Algarve for the past 3 years, it is shameful that we cannot receive little birthday/Christmas gifts from our loved ones at home!
Susan Price,
By email
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Concordo! Very bloated bureaucracy here, needs to be brought to the 21st century
By Oliver Thomas from Porto on 05 Nov 2021, 07:23
I have some paintings from my sister in customs in Lisbon. I registered with the CTT website enabling me to give the Alfandega /Customs information. Somehow someone had insured the package for 200 dollars or Euro not sure.
My sister said it was not her. So paid the duty on shipping as well of €56 and am still waiting. I suspect this problem is moneymaking related!
By David Maconochie from Other on 05 Nov 2021, 07:41
Even when you pay the duty the goods do not arrive. Go and have a look at how efficient Royal Mail is. Part of the problem is the ridiculous reduction of the duty free value of goods to zero. In other words all goods are dutiable. The CTT website is a joke as it is not possible to tell them thst the goods are a gift and you have no idea of the value of the gift.
By Mel Kitson from Alentejo on 05 Nov 2021, 19:57
CTT as an organisation is not fit for purpose.
I had a parcel which entered customs and I registered on line and completed the customs process satisfactorily. The parcel was then returned back to the sender!
On a second occasion, an item non dutiable but with extremely important documents entered the customs process in Lisbon. After many telephone calls and e-mails begging to receive the customs reference number, I completed the online paperwork and just to get the item out of customs paid a duty since the categorisation of “No Commercial Value does not exist”. Again the item finally left the customs system satisfactorily and never made it to my post box but was in turn returned to sender! When queried via telephone, I was assured I would receive it “in the coming days!!
These issues are clearly not a one off and will in the long run affect the countries commerce and well being.
By Stephen Laven from Algarve on 15 Nov 2021, 05:47
There is a clear process flaw. On numerous occasions goods from within the EU are being stopped by customs and held. So with this in light parcels from other origins have zero chance. The process I have found is to raise a parcel query through the the CTT website. You are then sent an email with a service request number, usually with a 'canned' response. You then give CTT reasonable time to act (I give them a week). At which point you raise a complaint with your service request number to ANACOM (the communications governance for Portugal). They will most likely not respond, but give them a few days. Keep a chronological account of everything. Now, raise a complaint with the EU directly in Brussels through their website. Highlight that you have followed the complaints procedures and it has landed you directly with Brussels. This is the process. The more people that complain and follow the process, the more likely things 'might' get fixed. I know it is painful and frustrating for ex pat's that are used to Royal Mail, but dealing with CTT especially in Lisbon where the bottleneck seems to be is just one of those 'amanhã' or in some cases 'próximo mês' things. I personally have had to wait 3 months in the past for a parcel to arrive in the Azores from an origin of the Netherlands.
By Manuel from Açores on 18 Nov 2021, 01:02