The minister of the (Supreme Federal Court) suspended this Sunday (21), even before the presidential sanction, an article to resurrect canceled parliamentary amendments and which was included in the country’s, and by the Federal.
The preliminary decision responds to a request from the Rede Sustentabilidade party and federal deputies Heloísa Helena (Rede-RJ), Túlio Gadelha (Rede-PE), Fernanda Melchionna (PSOL-RS) and Sâmia Bomfim (PSOL-SP). The measure is valid until the other STF ministers judge the validity of the injunction issued by Dino.
The suspended article revalidated parliamentary amendments to the Budget registered as balances payable between 2019 and 2023 and which had been cancelled. The provision determined that they could be settled by December 2026 – a deadline that had already been extended by Congress.
These amendments tend to be resources with a suspensive clause, in which the receiving entity (usually a city hall) has not yet completed all the bureaucracy to carry out the work or complete it. The payment forecast drags on for years, until it is completed or canceled after some time.
“It is important to emphasize that regularly canceled unpaid balances no longer exist in legal terms,” Dino wrote in the decision. As a result, any revalidation, he says, “is equivalent, in practice, to the creation of a new spending authorization, devoid of any basis in current budget law.” Authorizing this maneuver, he stated, “makes the termination of state obligations unpredictable.”
Furthermore, the same article of the project creates a mechanism to enable payment even in the event of insufficient amounts for the full execution of the proposed objects, with the possibility of pooling resources from more than one amendment. As the provision of funds is already old, the amount may not be sufficient to carry out the work currently.
The change in parliamentary amendments was included by deputies in a bill that dealt with the reduction of tax benefits and that concerns bets (betting houses), fintechs and JCP (Interest on Own Capital, a mechanism used by large companies to finance themselves).
The inclusion was part of the agreement between parliamentarians and the government to approve the proposal, which was voted on after months of delay and after a
Dino, however, stated that fiscal balance is the responsibility of the three Powers. “The same constitutional logic of containment must apply, rigorously, to attempts to reactivate resources arising from parliamentary amendments outside the regular budget cycle,” he stated.
According to him, the approved device violates due constitutional budgetary process, fiscal responsibility and the essential clauses of separation of Powers and fundamental rights and guarantees.
The minister highlights that part of the amendments that will be resurrected refer to resources from the extinct rapporteur’s amendment to the Budget, which became known for the lack of transparency about the author and which was . “In effect, care is being taken to resurrect a modality of amendment whose very existence was considered unconstitutional”, stated Dino.
The president (PT) has until January 12th to sanction the project and decide on any vetoes. But, with the decision, even if the PT member agrees with the rule, its effects will be suspended.
The injunction only applies to the article on parliamentary amendments. The rest of the project, which cuts part of tax benefits and increases taxes to allow the government to close its accounts in 2026, remains valid. These sections will have a budget impact of around R$22 billion next year.
