Brasilia, October 8 (RHC)-- Brazil's Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) has called on the country’s Congress to reject government accounts after ruling that President Dilma Rousseff did not adhere to the Constitution and other laws regarding public spending, according to Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper.

The ruling, adopted unanimously by eight judges on Wednesday, is the first time in almost 80 years that TCU rejected the accounts of Brazil’s head of state.

The court said Rousseff broke Brazil’s finance law by hiding expenses and using funds from state banks to cover budget shortages.

The ruling is not legally binding and it is now up to Brazil’s Congress to reject or accept the government accounts. The opposition will use this rejection to argue that the President should be impeached for breaking the law.

In theory, the irregularities identified by the TCU can be attributed to rulings signed by the President, such as decrees increasing expenses without revenues to back them up and without parliamentary approval.

However, the government rejects the possibility that the TCU's ruling creates the conditions for impeachment.