TCU rules that accounts are regular with reservations even though there is damage to the treasury in the order of R$ 12,564.61

The Federal Court of Auditors (TCU) published on 31/03/2025 in its Jurisprudence Bulletin no. 531 the Ruling no. 1547/2025 in which the First Chamber decided that “ it is admissible to judge the manager's accounts for regularity with reservations, granting him discharge, when the remaining debt is insignificant compared to the amounts managed by him and there is no evidence of enrichment, considering the principles of reasonableness, proportionality, administrative rationalization and procedural economy ”.

This understanding replicates and reinforces the understandings reached by that Court of Auditors in Rulings No. 1283/2019 and 10387/2021 issued by the Second Chamber.

According to the vote of Substitute Minister Weder de Oliveira, it is clear that Ruling No. 1547/2025 was based on the statement of the Public Accounts Office, Ruling No. 1283/2019 and the theory of substantial fulfillment to approve the manager's accounts with reservations even if there is damage to the treasury.

In the end, the TCU understood that the damage, a debt of R$12,564.61, was insignificant in relation to the total resources managed by the manager who had his accounts approved with reservations (around 2.4% of R$509,785.19).

In practice, the TCU understood in Ruling No. 1547/2025 that, in the absence of evidence of enrichment, the presence of damages corresponding to 2.4% of the amount of public resources managed by the public agent does not compromise the approval of accounts with reservations.

As in Ruling No. 1283/2019 the percentage of debt in relation to the managed value was 0.86% (of R$ 702,550.07), the change to 2.4% in Ruling No. 1547/2025 requires monitoring the TCU's case law to observe whether there will be consolidation of the setting of such new level.

Written by Aldem Johnston

Email: infrastructure@mellopimentel.com.br