Courts begin to release consultation to INSS precatories

The consultation on the payment of precatories of the INSS (National Social Security Institute) in 2022 began to be released. In the TRF-4 (Federal Regional Court of the 4th Region), which serves policyholders in Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, it is already possible to know if the payment will be made this year or if it is for 2023.

The TRF-3 (Federal Regional Court of the 3rd Region), responsible for São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul, should release the consultation data next week. The other courts did not respond.

With the 25% cut in the precatories budget, lawyers may not receive the amounts. The reason is the changes provided for in constitutional amendment 114, originated from the PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) of the Precatórios, which limited payment and freed up money for the government to spend in an election year.

With the opening of the consultation in the southern states, lawyers discovered that the payment of the fees is not foreseen. The same rule of TRF-4 shall be applied to TRF-3, according to Sheet found out. The other courts did not respond to the report. The justification is that the priorities of amendment 114 would only contemplate the creditors of the causes, not their defenders.

Who has priority to receive the precatories, according to and amendment 114:

1. Citizens with precatories of up to 180 minimum wages from 60 years of age or with a disability or serious illness
2. Creditors of alimony of any age, limited to 180 minimum wages
3. Too many alimony debts
4. Other precatories

In a note, the CJF (Council of Federal Justice), which transfers the amounts to the courts, reaffirmed that there will be no financial resources for the payment of all beneficiaries in 2022, “remaining for the following year the forecast of discharge of those requested precatories and not covered with financial resources in this exercise.”

The council confirmed that there may be cases of citizens who will not receive, depending on the situation of each court.

“It is important to highlight that each TRF, as they are different regional jurisdictions, has its list of beneficiaries whose characteristics may not resemble those of another TRF. As a result, there may be cases of the same type of beneficiary (or situation) that will receive , but that in another region will not receive; either due to the unavailability of resources, or by the order of precedence determined by EC 114/2021”, says the body.

OAB commission questions non-payment

The Federal Council of the OAB (Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil) is questioning the lack of payment in the CJF. In a letter sent to the body’s president, Minister Humberto Martins, the lawyers’ representatives question the rule adopted by the TRF-4 and claim that the lawyers’ precatories are also food allowances, according to Precedent 47 of the STF (Supreme Federal Court).

“The attorney’s fees included in the conviction or detached from the principal amount owed to the creditor constitute a food allowance whose satisfaction will occur with the issuance of a precatory or request of small value, observing a special order restricted to credits of this nature”, according to the summary.

payment will be lower

In the TRF-4, the payment will be made to 35,193 beneficiaries, including INSS insured persons, who are entitled to receive up to 180 minimum wages. BRL 3.4 billion will be released, of which BRL 2.8 billion are for social security processes, including actions for granting and reviewing benefits.

The amount released corresponds to 48.31% of what would be needed to fully settle the debts in 2022. For 2023, there is a list of 26,565 beneficiaries. “The non-payment of all beneficiaries stems from the effects of constitutional amendment 114, which created an annual limit for the payment of federal precatories”, says the agency.

According to the court, the deposit must be made in the first half of August.

In the TRF-3, approximately R$ 4.7 billion will be paid to 38,043 beneficiaries, of which 34,144 are INSS insured. Payment must be made in the first half of August. The total allocated to them is R$ 4.2 billion. Of the total forecast, R$ 3.6 billion should remain for 2023, encompassing 17,481 beneficiaries.

The court also states that only the holders of the claims will receive the amounts, according to amendment 114. “This does not mean that lawyers will not receive their claims this year, since the amounts of contractual fees arising from maintenance claims have preference”, says note.