Transparência Brasil analyzed data on appeals submitted from 2013 to 2023 to the Office of the Comptroller General (CGU) against denials of requests for access to information made under the Access to Information Law (LAI), to see how long it has taken the agency to issue a decision. The results show that in 2023 the average response time from the CGU was the longest since 2015, at 58 days, and 26% of appeals were answered outside the legal deadlines.

The CGU is the third hierarchical instance for appealing a request for information denied by the Federal Executive, or when the requester considers the response to be incomplete. According to the LAI, the body must respond to the appeal within five days. Since 2019, the Comptroller’s Office believes it can respond within 60 days, based on the Public Services User Protection Act.

• The longer time to respond has not meant that CGU has reversed its denials of requests for information: in 2023, 70% of appeals that were being processed after the legal deadline were rejected. This proportion was 33% in 2022, and 60% in 2020 and 2021;
• Authors of LAI requests unduly denied in the initial response and in the first two appeal instances have no predictability as to when CGU will consider their appeals;
• TB recommends that CGU adopt immediate measures to comply with the 60-day response limit, including the possible readjustment and expansion of its staff.