Government Gives Seven Distributors 48 Hours to Explain Fuel Price Adjustments

The National Consumer Secretariat (Senacom) of the Ministry of Justice has formally notified seven fuel distributors and initiated a preliminary investigation to ascertain potential signs of unjustified price increases. This measure comes amidst recent instability in the international oil market, triggered by the conflict in the Middle East. The companies notified include Vibra Energia, Raízen, Ipiranga, Ale Combustíveis, Ciapetro Distribuidora de Combustíveis, Petrobahia, and TDC Distribuidora de Combustíveis. According to Senacom, these companies hold a central position between refineries, importers, and retail stations. Therefore, the inquiry aims to clarify how price adjustments have been passed on to the retail sector. The notifications provide a 48-hour deadline for each distributor to report in which states they have commercialized gasoline, diesel, and ethanol since February 12th. They must also detail all adjustments made during this period and present documentation proving the economic motivation behind each increase. The government demands explanations regarding the date of adjustment, the affected fuel, the value of the adjustment, the retailers impacted, and the origin of the alleged cost. This includes factors such as acquisition from refineries, imports, logistics, operational expenses, taxes, or other relevant economic factors. A directive, accessed by O Globo newspaper and signed by the consumer protection and defense department, states that preliminary analysis identified price increases at “levels and rates” that, in theory, cannot be solely explained by market variations.