Notice analysis and challenge
Identifying restrictive requirements, estimate errors and clauses that shift undue risk, with a challenge within the deadline.
Sector advisory · government contracts
Public procurement and government contracts: from challenging the tender notice to rebalancing and sanctions
Selling to the Brazilian government means meeting short deadlines and formal rules at every stage. A qualification error, a poorly supported appeal or an unrequested amendment costs the contract or the company's financial health.
Straight answer: the stages where a company most needs legal support
Four moments concentrate the decisions: before the contest, in reading the notice and challenging restrictive requirements, usually within three business days; during the contest, in appeals against disqualification or rejection of the bid, also with short deadlines; during performance, with requests for economic and financial rebalancing, amendments and collection of late payments; and at the sanctions stage, with defense against warnings, fines, debarment and declarations of unsuitability, which can keep the company out of the public market for years.
This page is for companies that take part or intend to take part in municipal, state and federal tenders in Brazil, and for contractors performing government contracts. We serve companies throughout the State of São Paulo, Brazil, with meetings at our Paulista or Tatuapé offices or by video call, and act before the São Paulo courts (TJSP), the labor courts (TRT-2, TRT-15), the federal court (TRF-3) and administrative bodies.
Work fronts in public procurement
Qualification and bid
Checking documents, technical capacity certificates and pricing to avoid disqualification over formalities.
Appeals and counter-arguments
Objective filings against disqualification, rejection and award, and defense of the company's own bid against competitors' appeals.
Performance and rebalancing
Requests for adjustment, repricing and rebalancing due to unforeseeable events, amendments for time and quantity, and collection of late payments.
Administrative sanctions
Defense in fine, debarment and unsuitability proceedings. Details on the sanctions page.
Liability and oversight
Representation before audit courts and defense in improbity and Anti-Corruption Act actions related to government contracts.
Where companies lose contracts
Missed challenge deadline
Restrictive requirements not challenged in time are accepted as valid. The notice must be read on the day it is published.
Inadequate technical certificate
Certificates that do not match the object or are not registered when required are the main cause of disqualification.
Performing without an amendment
Services beyond the contract, without an amendment, are hard to collect from the government. The request must precede performance.
How the advisory works
1. Reading and strategy
Analysis of the notice or contract, the deadlines and the opportunities for challenges or requests.
2. Filings and follow-up
Drafting challenges, appeals, rebalancing requests and defenses, following sessions and decisions.
3. Judicial
Writs of mandamus and actions against unlawful decisions when the administrative route does not resolve the matter.
Formally record every event that affects contract performance, such as late payment, scope changes or input price increases. A rebalancing request depends on that contemporaneous documentary evidence.
Frequently asked questions about public procurement
Can a company be punished for not signing the contract after winning?
Yes. Unjustified refusal to sign is treated as non-performance and may lead to a fine and debarment. Pricing problems must be addressed before the award.
Is economic and financial rebalancing automatic?
No. It depends on a reasoned request with proof of an unforeseeable event, or one with incalculable consequences, that changed the contract's equation. Adjustment and repricing follow their own rules.
Does debarment in one municipality apply to the others?
Under Law 14,133/2021, debarment takes effect within the entity that applied it. The more serious declaration of unsuitability applies to the whole public administration.
Official references and related pages
Brazilian rules of reference for public contracting. Application depends on the contracting entity, the notice regime and the contract.
Is there a notice, appeal or government contract requiring a response?
Send the notice or the summons and the deadline through the secure channel. The screening identifies the stage and the applicable filing.