Chapter 10 Install and System Administration for FortiOS 5.0 : VLANs : VLANs in NAT mode : Adding VLAN subinterfaces : IP address and netmask
  
IP address and netmask
FortiGate unit interfaces cannot have overlapping IP addresses. The IP addresses of all interfaces must be on different subnets. This rule applies to both physical interfaces and to virtual interfaces such as VLAN subinterfaces. Each VLAN subinterface must be configured with its own IP address and netmask pair. This rule helps prevent a broadcast storm or other similar network problems.
 
If you are unable to change your existing configurations to prevent IP overlap, enter the CLI command config system global and set ip-overlap enable to allow IP address overlap. If you enter this command, multiple VLAN interfaces can have an IP address that is part of a subnet used by another interface. This command is recommended for advanced users only.
See Also
Adding VLAN subinterfaces
Physical interface
VLAN ID
VDOM
Configuring security policies
Configuring routing