TCU Authorizes ‘Teto Duplex,’ Allowing Extra Pay Above STF Salary Ceiling

Overview

• The Tribunal de Contas da União voted 8–1 on Wednesday, July 15 to treat base salary and pay for functions of trust or commission separately, effectively permitting gratifications to be paid on top of the constitutional ceiling used by the STF.
• The change stemmed from a Sindilegis representation and was pushed by TCU president Vital do Rêgo after relator Walton Alencar Rodrigues and the technical unit recommended not to know the case.
• TCU documents estimate about 25,700 employees could benefit and project an annual fiscal impact near R$211 million, equal to roughly 0.09% of the federal active payroll, while ordering implementation to respect available budgets and the Fiscal Responsibility Law.
• Coverage reports that leaders in the Chamber and Senate contacted TCU members before the vote, a development that has raised questions about political pressure, institutional independence and administrative ethics.
• The plenary cited recent STF jurisprudence that carved narrow exceptions for extra pay as part of its legal rationale and sent the full decision to Congress for follow-up, leaving political, administrative and potential legal responses pending.