New rules expand control over biofuels

The rules for companies that fail to comply with the mandatory blending of biofuels with fossil fuels may become stricter. Members of Parliament approved a proposal on Wednesday (April 8th) that establishes fines and sanctions for these situations. 

Bill 399/2025 improves at least four pieces of legislation and grants more authority to the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP). Another key point is the inclusion of conditions for requests for provisional injunctions in legal proceedings involving Decarbonization Credits (CBios). In practice, the measure inhibits litigation related to compliance with RenovaBio. 

The bill underwent changes in the committees and in the final report presented to the Plenary of the Chamber of Deputies. The rapporteur was the Institutional Coordinator of the Parliamentary Agricultural Front (FPA), Deputy Alceu Moreira (MDB-RS). 

"We wanted to work on a bill that would establish clear sanctions and also allow the agency to carry out thorough oversight," said the rapporteur before the voting began. 

Fines could reach R$ 500 million. 

The approved text provides a more objective definition of biofuels in the law that deals with national energy policy. It adds that this product is a "mandatory blending input" in fossil fuels. 

The proposal also modifies the legislation that addresses the oversight of fuel supply activities. Among the suggested changes are revisions to fines in cases already stipulated. 

For example, the current fine for failing to comply with safety regulations for the sale or storage of fuel ranges from R$20 to R$1 million. The bill approved in the Chamber increases the minimum and maximum amounts to R$94 and R$4,7 million, respectively. 

Furthermore, the bill provides for fines to be imposed on companies that fail to comply with the mandatory blending of biofuels with fossil fuels. The penalty will be calculated proportionally to the volume of biodiesel that is not added, with values ​​ranging from R$ 100 to R$ 500 million. 

Another new aspect of the proposal is the application of operating suspensions for establishments or facilities that fail to comply with the mandatory blending requirement. "No one has the right, in free and absolutely free competition, to gain an advantage through embezzlement or dishonesty in the sale of fuel," Moreira emphasized. 

Resources to maintain oversight.

One aspect of the text that generated discussion in the House Plenary was the article that creates the Inspection and Services Fee for Activities in the Oil, Natural Gas, Biofuels, Hydrogen, and Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage Industries (TFS-ANP). The measure was adopted as a way to strengthen the ANP's performance and ensure that inspection operations have the resources to function. 

“Last year, the agency [ANP] spent two months unable to carry out inspections because it didn't have the money to travel. The offender knew about the situation and took advantage of it to do as he pleased, enslaving and deceiving our consumers, selling anything anywhere,” recalled Alceu Moreira. He added: “What we propose here is to get a sector vital to society up and running, so that it functions healthily and is able to respect those who matter most: the consumer, the citizen.”

The fee will be charged according to the triggering event, that is, according to each pre-defined situation. For example, the pre-operational audit of pipeline safety systems will cost R$ 60 per request. The amounts vary from R$ 300 to R$ 200, with exemptions foreseen in certain circumstances.