indebidimentos

Indebidimentos is a term found in some Portuguese-language legal and financial texts to denote undue debits or payments that are not legitimately owed. The word is formed from indebito (not owed) and the plural suffix -mentos, and it is most commonly encountered in Brazilian Portuguese. In practice, indebidimentos can refer to charges that have been erroneously debited from an account, as well as credits or refunds that were improperly granted.

Usage and scope

The concept of indebidimentos covers situations in accounting, banking, taxation, and consumer law where a party has paid or been charged an amount that should not have been required. Common examples include a bank debiting an account for an amount that was not owed, or a tax credit being issued incorrectly. In these cases, the typical remedy is the reversal or annulment of the improper debit, followed by reimbursement or correction to the affected party’s account.

Relation to other terms

Indebidimentos is often used interchangeably with, or considered a broader umbrella for, more specific terms such as débito indevido (undue debit) and crédito indevido (undue credit). In many legal texts, the preferred terminology is to refer to the precise form of the error (e.g., débito indevido) and to point to the appropriate remedy, such as restituição (restitution), estorno (reversal), or compensação.

Notes

Because terminology can vary by jurisdiction and context, readers frequently encounter indebidimentos as a descriptive category rather than a fixed legal term. See also: crédito indevido, débito indevido, restituição, estorno.