Overbilling, Overpricing, and Unfeasible Pricing: Differences

Understand the differences between overpricing, overbilling, and unfeasible pricing under Brazil’s Law 14,133, the evidence for each condition, and how to prevent losses in public works.

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Overpricing, overbilling, and unfeasible pricing are three different problems in engineering procurement. Overpricing occurs when the procurement estimate or contracted price is materially above valid market benchmarks. Overbilling, in the broader Brazilian legal concept of superfaturamento, is a loss to the Administration’s assets materialized during execution, measurement, payment, or through other contractual distortions provided for in art. 6, LVII, of Law 14,133/2021. An unfeasible price lies at the opposite extreme: it is insufficient to sustain performance of the scope under the contracted conditions.

The distinction is not merely terminological. Each situation appears at a different point in the procurement lifecycle, requires different evidence, and leads to different measures. A public work may have an overpriced estimate without any loss having occurred yet; it may generate overbilling even without excessive unit prices, for example through payment for quantities not executed or deficient work that reduces quality, service life, or safety; and it may be contracted at such a low price that execution becomes economically unviable.

Therefore, cost analysis for public works needs to examine three directions simultaneously: whether the Administration is estimating or paying above market, whether actual loss has already occurred, and whether the winning bid can perform the scope. Mixing these concepts produces incorrect diagnoses, poorly supported deductions, fragile procurement decisions, and difficulty quantifying any resulting loss.

How Law 14,133 Defines the Three Problems

Law 14,133 incorporated express definitions of overpricing and superfaturamento in art. 6 and addressed unfeasibility in art. 59. This makes it possible to organize the analysis around three basic questions.

Overpricing: is the price above the market benchmark?

Art. 6, LVI, defines overpricing as the price estimated for procurement or contracted at a value materially higher than market reference prices. The law also distinguishes the analysis according to the contracting regime: it may be performed by item in unit-price contracts or in relation to the total value in regimes where that approach applies.

The central element is comparison with a technically valid benchmark. The mere fact that a price appears high does not establish overpricing. It is necessary to define the market reference, base date, specification, locality, quantities, supply conditions, productivity, taxation, and other parameters that make the values comparable.

Overbilling: has the Administration suffered an actual loss?

Art. 6, LVII, defines superfaturamento based on the loss caused to the Administration’s assets. The law itself lists situations that may characterize it:

measurement of quantities greater than those actually executed or supplied;
deficient execution of engineering works and services that reduces quality, service life, or safety;
changes to the estimate that create economic-financial imbalance in favor of the contractor;
changes to financial clauses that generate advance receipts, distortion of the physical-financial schedule, unjustified extensions with additional costs, or irregular price adjustments.

The list is not exhaustive. The decisive point is materialization of loss.

Unfeasible price: can the price support performance of the scope?

Unfeasibility operates at the other extreme. The problem is not a price above market or a loss already paid, but a price so low that it cannot support the cost of the scope.

Art. 59 requires disqualification of bids with unfeasible prices and authorizes due diligence to assess feasibility or require its demonstration. For engineering works and services, §4 establishes the 75% threshold of the Administration’s estimate, whose application should be read together with §2 and current TCU case law on demonstrating bid feasibility.

The content on bids below 75% goes deeper into this third axis. In this article, the objective is to compare the three concepts and show which evidence belongs to each diagnosis.

The Simplest Difference: High Price, Loss, and Low Price

A practical way to begin triage is to observe the economic direction of each problem.

Concept	Core question	Typical stage	Main evidence
Overpricing	Is the price above the benchmark?	Estimate, procurement, or contracting	Comparison with market benchmark
Overbilling	Has the Administration suffered an actual loss?	Execution, measurement, payment, or contractual change	Measurements, payments, quality, quantities, and contractual balance
Unfeasible price	Is the price sufficient to perform?	Bid evaluation	Cost composition, productivity, suppliers, BDI, and risks

This table is only the first layer. In practice, the three phenomena may be related. A procurement process may begin with overpriced items and, if those items are paid, part of the risk may turn into overbilling. A bid may simultaneously contain very low and very high items, creating a risk of future imbalance. And a change in quantities may alter the economics of a spreadsheet that initially appeared balanced.

Overpricing Does Not Automatically Mean Overbilling

This is one of the most important distinctions in public-works auditing.

TCU’s Public Works Audit Guide makes clear that the existence of overpricing, by itself, does not result in loss to public funds. Loss materializes as superfaturamento, for example when services with excessive prices or services not performed are liquidated and paid.

Imagine a reference estimate of R$ 10 million in a procurement process that has not yet been contracted. An audit identifies that, after equalizing specifications and base date, the market value would be R$ 8.5 million. There is a relevant indication of overpricing in the estimate. But if the procurement is corrected before contracting, that excess was never paid.

Now consider a contract in which a particular service was contracted above the benchmark and was actually measured and paid. The analysis then moves to loss and quantification of overbilling, using a method appropriate to the contracting regime and the contract as a whole.

This difference in timing completely changes the appropriate response. Overpricing detected during the preparatory phase can be corrected in the estimate. Overbilling requires investigation of materialized loss, causation, and the associated amount.

Where Overpricing Can Originate

Overpricing does not arise only because someone “entered a high price” in a spreadsheet. In engineering, it may result from several underlying errors.

Inappropriate benchmark

SINAPI, SICRO, and other systems are references, not substitutes for engineering. Using a different service composition, the wrong locality, an incompatible base date, or a non-equivalent specification distorts the comparison.

Price research for engineering works and services needs to align the source, market, specification, and supply condition.

Overestimated quantities

An estimate may be high not because the unit price is excessive, but because the quantity is incorrect. In that case, the origin lies in the design, survey, or calculation memorandum.

In unit-price contracts, a quantity error may behave differently depending on execution and measurement. In lump-sum contracts, interpretation must consider the regime, risk matrix, and contractual rules. In any event, the audit should separate price error from quantity error.

Composition based on inappropriate productivity

Productivity below a technically reasonable level increases the unit cost. Before classifying a value as excessive, it is necessary to verify execution conditions, constraints, logistics, complexity, and applicable productivity.

Incorrect BDI or Social Charges

BDI percentages, taxes, or Social Charges applied incorrectly may increase the estimate. The analysis should avoid double counting and consider the tax regime and applicable methodologies.

The content on BDI and SINAPI Social Charges helps identify these distortions.

How to Technically Demonstrate Overpricing

Overpricing can only be established against a comparable baseline. Reviewing quantities, compositions, benchmarks, base date, BDI, and execution conditions is the first step in separating a justified difference from an excessive price.

Engineering Works and Services Cost Estimating

Proving overpricing requires a homogeneous comparison. A robust technical opinion should document at least:

the scope and item analyzed;
technical specification;
unit and quantity;
base date;
locality;
selected benchmark;
adjustments required for equivalence;
BDI and Social Charges considered;
execution regime;
unit and total difference;
materiality of the item within the contract.

The benchmark may come from an official system, market research, a comparable contract, a validated in-house composition, or another technically justified source. The selection must be reasoned.

Another bidder’s price is not automatically the market price

Competing bids are useful information, but they do not replace a technically constructed reference. One bidder may have an unfeasible price; another may have interpreted the specification incorrectly. The existence of a lower offer, by itself, does not prove overpricing in the winning bid.

Likewise, the highest market price does not legitimize any estimate. The criterion must reflect the actual condition of the scope.

Overbilling Goes Far Beyond Paying Above Market Price

The legal definition is deliberately broader. This is essential for anyone who associates superfaturamento only with an “expensive invoice.”

Overbilling by quantity

This occurs when the Administration measures and pays for a quantity greater than what was actually executed or supplied.

Examples:

measurement of 1,000 m of piping when only 850 m were installed;
payment for equipment not delivered;
recording excavation or fill above the verified volume;
full payment for a service whose physical stage was not completed.

In this scenario, the main evidence comes from technical supervision: site diary, field survey, designs, topographic records, photographs, measurement certificates, receiving records, and equivalent documentation.

The Construction Measurement Certificate is central to preventing financial progress from becoming disconnected from physical progress.

Overbilling due to deficient quality

Law 14,133 includes deficient execution that reduces quality, service life, or safety. This is particularly relevant because a service may have been executed in the planned quantity and still cause loss.

Possible examples include:

concrete with performance below the specified level;
pavement thickness below the design;
equipment with lower capacity or class;
cable, piping, or component outside the specification;
an omitted test that leaves a critical requirement unverified;
installation that reduces the expected service life;
a protection or safety system unable to achieve the contracted performance.

Quantification in this type of situation may require Diagnostic Engineering, testing, calculation of lost service life, correction or replacement cost, and assessment of functional impact.

Overbilling due to economic-financial imbalance in favor of the contractor

Changes in quantities and services may alter the economics of the pricing spreadsheet. When a contract contains items with relative prices far from the benchmarks, increasing items favorable to the contractor and reducing underpriced items may break the initial balance.

This is the context in which so-called unbalanced bidding or “spreadsheet gaming” appears. The analysis requires comparing the initial composition with the situation after changes, not merely looking at the new total value.

Overbilling due to financial distortions

The law also mentions advance receipts, distortion of the physical-financial schedule, unjustified extensions with additional costs, and irregular price adjustments.

This demonstrates that loss may arise from financial flows and contract administration even when the original unit price was not excessive.

Unbalanced Unit Pricing: Why Unit Prices Matter Even with a Global Discount

A bid may offer a good global discount while still containing individual items priced above the market. If quantities remain as designed, compensation among items may preserve the overall result. If the contract changes, that relationship changes.

Simplified example:

Item	Initial quantity	Contracted price	Benchmark	Condition
Service A	1,000	R$ 80	R$ 100	underpriced
Service B	100	R$ 200	R$ 120	overpriced

If Service A is reduced and Service B increased through a contract amendment, the contract may lose the original overall discount and shift to a condition unfavorable to the Administration.

For this reason, art. 59, §3, requires that for engineering works and services the total price, quantities, and relevant unit prices be analyzed during the bid-evaluation stage.

The ABC Curve helps identify which components deserve priority control.

An Unfeasible Price Is a Viability Problem, Not Loss Already Incurred

During procurement, very low or very high unit prices need to be examined before signature. Technical bid analysis reduces the risk of contracting an unfeasible price and carrying an economically unbalanced spreadsheet into the contract.

Technical Support for Engineering Procurement and Bid Evaluation

An unfeasible price should be separated from overbilling for a simple reason: the analysis occurs before the Administration pays the contract.

The question is whether the company can perform the scope for the offered price. A low amount may result from efficiency, in-house structure, inventory, commercial agreements, a low-margin strategy, or higher productivity. It may also result from omitted costs, composition errors, incorrect interpretation of scope, or an expectation of recovering the result later through contract amendments.

Feasibility due diligence organizes how these hypotheses should be tested.

Unfeasibility is not synonymous with a high discount

The discount is a signal. The conclusion requires understanding the bid. Current TCU case law emphasizes the opportunity to demonstrate feasibility in situations covered by the presumption in art. 59, §4.

For engineering, this means analyzing:

labor cost;
materials and equipment;
productivity;
mobilization;
site administration;
BDI;
taxes;
schedule;
suppliers;
risks;
working capital.

Can a Procurement Have Overpricing and Unfeasible Pricing at the Same Time?

Yes, when the internal structure of the bid is examined.

The total amount may be acceptable while some items are far above the benchmark and others far below. The low items may be individually unfeasible or may simply reflect a margin-allocation strategy. The high items may represent a risk of overpricing, particularly if they are material or subject to quantity increases.

Therefore, the analysis should not try to classify the entire bid with a single label. It is necessary to understand the economic geometry of the pricing spreadsheet.

This reading is particularly important in complex contracts with hundreds or thousands of items and the possibility of changes during execution.

How to Distinguish an Indication, a Finding, and a Loss

Technical audit needs to use language proportional to the evidence.

Indication

It is a condition that justifies deeper analysis. A price 40% above a table without complete equalization may be an indication, not a conclusion.

Technical finding of overpricing

It arises when the comparison is sufficiently robust to demonstrate that the estimated or contracted price is materially above the applicable benchmark.

Loss or overbilling

This requires materialization of the loss and appropriate quantification. It is not enough to demonstrate that overpricing existed in a spreadsheet if the item was not paid or if the applicable method requires offsets that alter the result.

This discipline of language avoids attributing loss before the necessary evidence exists.

Evidence Matrix: Which Document Supports Each Problem

The three diagnoses require different sources.

Evidence	Overpricing	Overbilling	Unfeasibility
Reference estimate	Strong	Supporting	Strong
SINAPI/SICRO	Strong	Strong as benchmark	Strong for comparison
Supplier quotations	Supporting	Supporting	Strong
Contract pricing spreadsheet	Strong	Strong	Strong
Measurement certificate	Low	Very strong	Low
Site diary	Low	Very strong	Supporting
Field survey	Low	Very strong	Low
Inspections and tests	Low	Very strong for quality	Supporting
Bid cost composition	Supporting	Supporting	Very strong
Physical-financial schedule	Supporting	Strong	Strong
Addenda and changes	Strong	Very strong	Supporting
Proof of payment	Low	Essential for financial loss	Low

The table makes clear why there is no single “price technical report.” The audit scope depends on the phenomenon being investigated.

How to Use SINAPI and SICRO Without Treating Tables as Absolute Truth

Official systems are fundamental, but comparison requires engineering.

It is necessary to verify:

whether an equivalent composition exists;
whether the inputs represent the contracted specification;
whether the productivity is applicable;
whether the locality and base date are correct;
whether there are specific logistics conditions;
whether BDI was treated consistently;
whether specific quotations are provided for in the methodology;
whether the scope has exceptional execution conditions.

A price different from SINAPI is not automatically overpriced or unfeasible. The difference needs to be technically explained.

The article SINAPI: what it is and how to use it and the content on SICRO go deeper into this application.

Quantities: the Link Between Estimating, Measurement, and Loss

Quantities appear in all three analyses.

In overpricing, an overestimated quantity can inflate the total estimate. In unfeasibility, incorrect quantities in the reference estimate can produce a misleading discount percentage. In overbilling, paying for a quantity not executed is one of the situations expressly provided for by law.

Therefore, traceability should connect:

design → calculation memorandum → cost spreadsheet → contract → measurement → As-Built or final survey.

When this chain is broken, the Administration loses the ability to explain where each quantity came from and whether what was paid corresponds to what was executed.

The Site Diary and measurement certificates form an important part of this evidence during implementation.

Quality, Service Life, and Safety Also Have Economic Value

A purely financial analysis may overlook one of the most relevant forms of loss.

If the Administration procured a system with a specified service life and receives an inferior solution, the loss is not limited to the cost of the missing component. There may be reduced performance, increased maintenance, need for premature replacement, and operational risk.

For structures, pavements, electrical systems, electronic security, telecommunications, automation, or building systems, the diagnosis may require testing, inspections, certifications, and commissioning.

Quantification of quality-related loss needs to be technically defensible. Depending on the case, it may involve correction cost, replacement cost, difference in value, loss of service life, or another appropriate method.

Contract Addenda: a Critical Point for Unbalanced Pricing and Overbilling

Contract changes are not irregular by definition. The problem arises when they alter the contract’s economic equation to the detriment of the Administration.

Before approving an addendum, it is advisable to verify:

technical cause of the change;
connection with the design and original scope;
quantities added and omitted;
prices of existing items;
price formation for new items;
maintenance of the overall discount when applicable;
effect on economic-financial balance;
schedule and indirect costs;
allocated risks.

The service of Technical Analysis of Addenda, Scope Changes, and Claims acts precisely at this decision point.

How to Analyze Overpricing in a Sample Without Losing the Global Context

In large contracts, auditing commonly uses materiality-based sampling. The ABC Curve selects the items with the greatest financial impact, but the conclusion needs to respect the applicable method.

A sample may reveal strong indications, but it should not automatically be extrapolated to the entire contract without a basis. It is also necessary to consider offsets between overpriced and underpriced items when the method, regime, and legal situation so require.

TCU has a specific methodology in its Public Works Audit Guide for different situations. Therefore, quantification of a recoverable amount should not be improvised by simply adding positive differences between contracted prices and a table.

Overbilling Due to Excessive Prices

When the contract has already been executed and paid, excessive pricing may turn into loss. The analysis requires:

define the appropriate benchmark;
equalize base date and conditions;
identify quantities actually paid;
apply the relevant calculation method;
consider offsets when applicable;
demonstrate the disbursement;
quantify the loss.

This sequence is more rigorous than identifying overpricing during the estimating stage because it involves accountability and actual loss.

Overbilling for Services Not Performed

The logic is different. The problem is not the price but the physical absence of what was paid for.

The investigation may use:

field inspection;
as-built survey;
designs and As-Built documents;
dated photographic records;
supervision reports;
measurements;
invoices;
equipment inventory;
functional tests.

For a stalled project, this cross-check is particularly important because part of what was measured may have been executed, deteriorated, removed, or never installed. The survey of executed services and condition report helps reconstruct the physical baseline.

Quality-Related Overbilling: Moving from Opinion to Evidence

The statement “poorly executed service” is insufficient. The audit must connect requirement, evidence, and consequence.

A useful structure is:

contractual requirement → condition found → verification method → nonconformity → impact → quantification.

Example: the design requires a specified strength; tests demonstrate a lower value; structural analysis assesses the consequence; the need for strengthening, demolition, or conditional acceptance is defined; the economic impact is then quantified.

This model also applies to electromechanical and technology systems. Requirements for capacity, redundancy, certification, integration, and performance need to be verifiable.

An Unfeasible Price Can Become a Contractual Problem Even Without Overbilling

When the Administration contracts an insufficient price, loss is not necessarily immediate. Risk appears through other mechanisms:

delay;
abandonment;
reduced quality;
pressure for contract addenda;
unsupported requests for economic-financial rebalancing;
inappropriate subcontracting;
failure to fulfill obligations;
insolvency;
stoppage.

Therefore, feasibility analysis is a preventive execution-risk control. It should not be confused with an audit of loss, but it directly influences the likelihood of later problems.

How to Prevent the Three Problems During the Preparatory Phase

Prevention begins before publication of the bidding documents.

To reduce overpricing

sufficiently mature design;
traceable quantities;
detailed estimate;
appropriate market research;
correct base date;
consistent BDI and Social Charges;
independent review of critical items.

To reduce the risk of unfeasible pricing

clear acceptability criteria;
structured spreadsheets;
relevant items identified;
due diligence rules;
requirement to adjust the spreadsheet to the winning bid;
analysis of productivity and critical costs.

To reduce overbilling

objective measurement criteria;
mandatory evidence;
technical supervision;
change control;
testing and inspections;
segregation among execution, measurement, and approval;
document governance.

The technical review of the Terms of Reference and the technical review of the bidding documents are preventive controls before the competitive stage.

How to Control the Three Problems During Execution

Overbilling is demonstrated through actual execution, not merely through the spreadsheet. Quantities, quality, inspections, field evidence, measurements, and payments need to be reconciled to identify and quantify any loss.

Technical Support for Supervision of Engineering Works and Contracts

After contracting, management needs to transform the baseline into continuous control.

Monitoring should integrate:

contract and attachments;
current design;
contract estimate;
schedule;
risk matrix;
site diary;
measurements;
inspections;
NCRs;
RFIs;
addenda;
payments;
final documentation.

Contract, Scope, and Deliverables Management creates the governance structure to keep these elements connected.

Technical Diagnostic Procedure in 8 Steps

When there is suspicion of a pricing or measurement irregularity, a consistent diagnosis can follow eight steps.

1. Define exactly which hypothesis is being investigated

Is it overpricing? Quantity? Quality? Contractual change? Unfeasibility? More than one problem?

Without this classification, the team tends to collect documents without knowing what needs to be proven.

2. Freeze the documentary baseline

Gather current versions of the design, estimate, contract, bids, schedule, measurements, and addenda. Version governance prevents comparison of a current document with a price formed under another condition.

3. Define the benchmark

Select a market reference with compatible specification, locality, and base date.

4. Prioritize materiality

Apply the ABC Curve, technical criticality, and change risk to select the sample.

5. Reconstruct quantities

Compare design, calculation memorandum, field conditions, and measurement.

6. Verify quality and performance

Use inspections, tests, commissioning, and acceptance evidence.

7. Reconstruct the financial flow

Relate measurement, liquidation, and payment. Without disbursement, the loss analysis needs to distinguish risk of loss from actual loss.

8. Quantify and document

Apply a compatible method and record criteria, sources, calculations, limitations, and conclusion.

When to Engage Consulting Engineering Support

Public entities and Owners may have good supervision teams without maintaining in-house specialists in estimating, planning, cost auditing, testing, and contract analysis for exceptional situations.

External support is particularly useful when there is:

a high-value contract;
a large number of items;
multiple disciplines;
material contract addenda;
suspicion of unbalanced unit pricing;
divergences between physical and financial progress;
discussion about quality or service life;
a stalled project;
a need to reconstruct documentation;
a challenge or oversight inquiry;
a need for an independent technical opinion.

The service of Engineering Works and Services Cost Estimating supports construction and review of the benchmark. Technical Support for Procurement and Bid Evaluation operates before contracting. During execution, Technical Support for Supervision strengthens measurement, evidence, and compliance.

Consulting Engineering does not replace administrative, legal, or oversight decisions. Its role is to produce the technical basis so the decision is grounded in quantity, price, quality, causation, and evidence.

Checklist to Avoid Confusing the Concepts

Before concluding a technical opinion, verify:

Is there a technically comparable market benchmark?
Is the problem in the unit price, total price, or quantity?
Has the contract already been executed and paid?
Is there evidence of actual loss or only a risk of excessive pricing?
Were the measured services actually performed?
Does quality meet the contracted requirement?
Was service life or safety reduced?
Did the contractual change alter the economic equation?
Was the low bid subjected to feasibility due diligence?
Is the calculation method appropriate to the regime and legal situation?
Are the sources and base date documented?
Does the conclusion distinguish indication, finding, and loss?

If these questions are not answered, it is too early to use labels such as overbilling or unfeasibility conclusively.

Final considerations

Overpricing, superfaturamento, and unfeasible pricing belong to the same cost-governance framework, but they represent different risks. Overpricing indicates that the Administration is budgeting or contracting above a valid benchmark. Superfaturamento requires materialized loss and may result not only from excessive prices, but also from quantities, quality deficiencies, contract changes, and financial distortions. Unfeasible pricing points to the opposite extreme: a price without sufficient economic support to perform the scope.

The distinction among them determines what must be measured, which documents matter, how the issue is quantified, and at what stage the Administration can correct it. During the preparatory phase, the priority is reliable design and budgeting. During bid evaluation, it is proposal analysis and feasibility. During execution, it is measurement, quality, changes, and payment.

Technically mature management follows this entire cycle. It does not wait for loss to occur before discussing costs. It builds reliable benchmarks, reviews bids, traces quantities, controls changes, and maintains enough evidence to demonstrate what was contracted, executed, and paid.

Technical references

[1] BRAZIL. Law No. 14,133 of April 1, 2021. Public Procurement and Administrative Contracts Law. Brasília, DF: Presidency of the Republic. Available at: https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2019-2022/2021/lei/l14133.htm

[2] TRIBUNAL DE CONTAS DA UNIÃO. Licitações e Contratos: Orientações e Jurisprudência do TCU — Por que licitar? Brasília: TCU. Available at: https://licitacoesecontratos.tcu.gov.br/3-1-2-por-que-licitar-2/

[3] TRIBUNAL DE CONTAS DA UNIÃO. Roteiro de Auditoria de Obras Públicas. Brasília: TCU, approved by Portaria-Segecex No. 33/2012. Available at: https://apoioauditoria.tcu.gov.br/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2024/12/Roteiro-de-Auditoria-de-Obras-P_blicas-_-vers_o-p_bli-_4_-1.pdf

[4] TRIBUNAL DE CONTAS DA UNIÃO. Auditorias em áreas específicas — Obras públicas. Apoio ao Controle Externo. Available at: https://apoioauditoria.tcu.gov.br/normas-controle-externo/auditorias-em-areas-especificas/

[5] TRIBUNAL DE CONTAS DA UNIÃO. Acórdão 4076/2020-TCU-Plenário. Methods for assessing overpricing and superfaturamento in public works. Available at: https://pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br/documento/acordao-completo/%2A/NUMACORDAO%253A4076%2520ANOACORDAO%253A2020%2520COLEGIADO%253A%2522Plen%25C3%25A1rio%2522%2520/DTRELEVANCIA%2520desc%252C%2520NUMACORDAOINT%2520desc/0

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between overpricing and superfaturamento?

Overpricing is an estimated or contracted price significantly above the applicable market benchmark. Superfaturamento requires loss to the Administration’s assets and may result from payment at excessive prices, quantities not executed, quality deficiencies, changes that improperly favor the contractor, or other distortions provided for in art. 6, LVII.

Does overpricing already mean loss to the public treasury?

Not necessarily. TCU’s own public-works audit guidance distinguishes overpricing from superfaturamento: the former may exist before payment, while the latter involves materialized loss. Overpricing identified and corrected before contracting, for example, may not generate financial loss.

What is an unfeasible price?

It is a price insufficient to support full performance of the scope under the procurement conditions. For engineering works and services, Law 14,133 establishes the threshold in art. 59, §4 and allows due diligence to demonstrate feasibility.

Can there be superfaturamento without a unit price above market?

Yes. Law 14,133 includes superfaturamento arising from quantities paid but not executed, deficiencies that reduce quality, service life, or safety, changes that cause economic imbalance in favor of the contractor, and certain financial distortions.

What is bid-item price manipulation?

It is a situation in which the distribution of unit prices and subsequent quantity changes can disrupt the original economic balance to the Administration’s detriment by increasing items favorable to the contractor and reducing underpriced items.

Do SINAPI or SICRO alone prove that overpricing exists?

No. They are fundamental benchmarks, but the comparison must normalize specification, base date, location, productivity, BDI, Social Charges, logistics, and execution conditions. A difference from a reference table is a starting point for analysis, not an automatic conclusion.

How can superfaturamento be prevented during construction?

Through traceable design and budgeting, objective measurement criteria, technical inspection, construction logs, field evidence, inspections and tests, change control, contract-amendment analysis, and document governance.

Supplementary technical materials