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The acquisition is legal and went through bidding, but raises questions: each device cost about R$ 2,000 above the lowest retail price, and the company that supplied the phones primarily deals in clothing. The smartphones will remain as public property of the House.
The City Council of Porto Belo, in the Northern Coast of Santa Catarina, purchased 11 luxury iPhones at R$ 11,299 each for the councilors and justifies the total expense of R$ 124,289 as part of a project to reduce paper usage. The expenditure draws attention because the same model is sold for about R$ 9,000 in stores, a difference that raises questions about the amount paid with public money.
The purchase was made at the beginning of May 2026 and is listed on the Transparency Portal of the municipal Legislature. These are iPhone 16 Pro devices, with a 6.3-inch screen and 256 GB of storage, in a city with 27,688 inhabitants, according to the 2022 Census by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. It is important to clarify from the outset that the acquisition was made through a valid bidding process, with no indication of illegality, but the case reignites the debate on the use of public resources.
How the purchase was made
The acquisition did not go through a bidding process exclusively opened by the Porto Belo City Council. It occurred by adhering to a price registration record of CINCATARINA, the Santa Catarina Interfederative Consortium, using electronic auction no. 56/2025, already approved by the state consortium. This model is provided for in Federal Law no. 14,133/2021, the current Bidding Law.
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In practice, this mechanism, known as adherence or “piggybacking,” allows a public body to take advantage of a bidding process already conducted by another entity, without needing to initiate its own bidding process from scratch. It is a legal procedure widely used by municipalities and councils across the country, precisely to expedite purchases. In other words, from a formal standpoint, the Council followed a procedure permitted by Brazilian legislation.
The justification of the Digital Legislature
According to the Council, the devices are part of a project called “Digital Legislature,” aimed at reducing paper consumption and digitizing internal and parliamentary processes. “The goal is to save paper, transform the entire legislative process into digital. Therefore, we are acquiring smartphones with greater technological capacity,” informed the Legislature.
In the justification for the commitment, the House states that the equipment is necessary to meet data processing demands, digital document signing, operating system stability, and encryption. The document argues that it is not merely an update of devices, but to equip the Legislature with hardware capable of supporting parliamentary and administrative functions. The Chamber also informed that the cell phones will remain as public property of the institution.
The point that generates controversy: the price
The core of the questioning lies in the value. Each iPhone 16 Pro cost R$ 11,299 to the public coffers, while the same model, with 256 GB, is found in Brazilian retail for about R$ 9,220 at the lowest price, according to a survey by comparison platforms. The difference is approximately R$ 2,000 per unit, or about 22% above the cheapest retail price.
Multiplied by the 11 devices, this difference represents something around R$ 22,000 more in the total purchase, compared to the lowest retail price. The report by the ND Mais portal, which revealed the case, found the same models for lower values on e-commerce sites. It is worth remembering that prices can vary according to supplier, warranty, taxation, and sales conditions, but the difference draws attention in a purchase with public resources.
The Chamber’s response about the overpricing
Questioned about the difference, the Chamber presented a justification based on public procurement rules. “It is common to find lower values for goods tendered by public bodies. However, the acquisition process must obligatorily comply with the so-called delivery guarantee, that is, payment cannot be made before receiving the goods,” explained the institution.
The House added that the supplier company, to receive payment, needs to present a series of documents, such as federal, state, and municipal negative certificates, proof of regularity with the FGTS, bankruptcy certificate, and a statement that it does not employ minors. These requirements are indeed legitimate and increase the cost of operations with the public sector, although experts often argue that they do not alone explain very large differences compared to retail.
The iPhone supplier that also sells clothes
Another detail raised by the report draws attention. The supplier company of the devices, based in Itapema, also on the Northern Coast of Santa Catarina, has as its main economic activity the retail trade of clothing and accessories, that is, it is primarily registered as a clothing store.
According to the registration record, the company also operates in other segments, such as IT, telephony, appliances, and construction materials, which makes the sale of electronics to the public sector formally possible. Still, the fact that a company whose main activity is clothing appears as a supplier of luxury iPhones to a public body is an angle that usually attracts the attention of those who oversee public accounts.
A debate that goes beyond Porto Belo
The case of Porto Belo adds to a long list of episodes across Brazil where purchases of high-value electronic equipment by public agencies generate debate. The central discussion is not necessarily about legality, as many of these acquisitions follow correct formal procedures, but about the appropriateness and cost-effectiveness of the expenditure, principles that public administration must also observe.
In times of tight budgets and demands for efficiency, decisions like this tend to mobilize residents, who question whether the choice of high-end devices, instead of cheaper models, is the best use of taxpayer money. It is up to control bodies, such as the Court of Accounts, and the population itself, through transparency portals, to monitor and assess whether the expenditure is justified.
The purchase of 11 luxury iPhones by the Porto Belo City Council is a case that well illustrates the tension between legality and cost-effectiveness in public accounts. The acquisition was made within the rules, through a valid bidding process and with the devices becoming public assets, but the price above retail and the supplier’s profile raise legitimate questions. At a time when society increasingly demands transparency and good use of public money, such episodes reinforce the importance of citizen oversight and careful monitoring of every expense, no matter how small the city may seem.
And you, what do you think about the purchase of luxury iPhones for R$ 124,000 by the council of a city with 27,000 inhabitants? Do you consider the expenditure justifiable in the name of digitalization, or do you think there was a lack of economy? Leave your comment, share your opinion on the use of public money, and share the article with those concerned about government account oversight.
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