Are companies in judicial reorganization exempt from paying the appeal deposit? Brazil is going through a period of great increase in judicial recoveries which, according to a study by Serasa Experian, grew by 71%, totaling 1,014 in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period last year. Micro and small companies were the ones to resort to this mechanism the most, registering 713 requests.
Given this scenario, it is worth remembering that companies undergoing judicial recovery (as well as beneficiaries of free justice and philanthropic entities) are exempt from the expense under the Labor Reform (Law 13.467/2017), which included paragraph 10 in article 899 of the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT). Since August 1, the amount of appeal deposits, which is updated annually, varies from R$13,133.46 to R$26,266.92, depending on the type of appeal filed.
In practice, according to Precedent No. 128 of the Superior Labor Court (“TST”), the appeal deposit is required for each new appeal (Ordinary, Review, Interlocutory Appeal and Embargo) as an admissibility requirement for its analysis by the higher court.
When the amount reaches the ceiling of the conviction awarded by the sentence or judgment, no further deposit is required. However, if the amount is high, it will be necessary to supplement the guarantee. On the other hand, the amounts collected will be used to offset the amount found in a future execution.
In view of this, before the 2017 Labor Reform, there was no possibility of companies in judicial reorganization being exempt from depositing appeals, a benefit that was limited only to procedural costs. Now, companies undergoing judicial reorganization are no longer required to pay an appeal deposit, and can appeal against sentences or judgments without having to pay the conviction in advance. It is even possible to discuss the possibility of withdrawing the deposits made in default of the understanding in question.
A parenthesis should be made here to point out that the exemption refers to the appeal deposit, while the obligation to pay procedural costs remains, unless there is a case of gratuity of justice, upon unequivocal demonstration of economic incapacity.
One of the main reasons for this measure is the continuity of the company, since the volume of appeal deposits can make it impossible to pay qualified creditors and even bankrupt the company. In addition, it is fundamental to the legal procedure for settling the claims that must be approved, included in the list of creditors and paid in accordance with the approved reorganization plan or enforced before the civil court.
In order to make use of the exemption prerogative, all the company has to do is prove its situation by including in the labor lawsuit the sentence that granted the judicial reorganization and the lawsuit number, since there is no legal provision defining which documents are necessary to prove the judicial reorganization.
