Acquisition of luxury products by the public administration

Abstract

This article analyzes the hypotheses of acquisition of luxurious products by the Public Administration, based on Law Nº 14,133/2021 and the principles that guide administrative activity. Although the Bidding and Contracts Law introduced restrictions on the purchase of luxurious products, there remains an interpretative gap regarding the objective definition of the term. The subjectivity involved in the expression “luxurious products” provided for in the new legislation, even with the regulation provided for in Federal Decree Nº 10,818/2021, still generates legal uncertainty regarding the legal and operational limitations imposed on the Administration. This essay seeks to demonstrate that more important than the definition of what constitutes a “luxury item” is the need for the Public Administration to justify, based on the public interest and the principles of morality and reasonableness, the need to contract that good of differentiated quality.