TCU warns government about the fiscal risk of maintaining universal postal service without compensation

"This process has been reducing the ability of Correios to self-finance the implementation of public policy, leading to the need for credit operations, the formulation of restructuring plans and increased dependence on external sources of financing", highlight the technicians. Most of the expenses are related to maintaining the structure necessary to serve the entire country, including expenses with personnel, operational infrastructure and administrative areas. Around 68% of costs correspond to operations directly linked to the provision of postal services. In the TCU's assessment, the combination of the structural drop in revenues and the continuous increase in costs worsened the financial imbalance in public policy. As a result, technicians highlight, Correios found itself with a reduced self-financing capacity, which led the company to resort more frequently to credit operations, restructuring plans and external sources of financing. Despite the financial difficulties, the auditors highlight that postal services remain essential in regions with low digital connectivity, geographic isolation and little presence of the private sector. In these locations, the Correios network functions as an instrument of territorial integration, access to rights and support for the implementation of other public policies. "It was found that the capillarity of the postal network gives the policy a function that goes beyond the provision of the service itself, acting as an instrument of territorial equity and access to rights, including as support for the implementation of other public policies. In a relevant portion of the national territory, Correios remains the only federal public infrastructure with a permanent presence, which reinforces the relevance of universalization from the perspective of social need, and not just the observed demand", emphasize the technicians. Still, the diagnosis is that the universalization policy still does not ensure equal access to services. Although municipal coverage targets are met, the same is not true in traditional communities, remote rural areas and urban outskirts, which continue to face service difficulties. Correios' losses triple in 2025 and amount to R$ 8.5 billion Jornal Nacional/ Reproduction The auditors observe that the criteria that have been adopted do not take into account regional inequalities and end up confusing low demand with the absence of need. "Additionally, structural factors such as precarious urban addresses, insufficient inter-federative coordination, public security restrictions and the lack of systematic diagnoses on the postal situation of vulnerable populations contribute to the statistical and institutional invisibility of these groups, making it difficult to formulate coordinated, evidence-based responses", assess the technicians. The sum of these factors, point out the technicians, means that the current model puts Correios in an impasse: reducing costs can compromise the network's capillarity, while expanding universalization requires resources that the company can no longer support. According to the court, without changes in governance and financing, the financial sustainability and continuity of the universal postal service remain at risk.