The TRF-3 (Federal Regional Court of the 3rd Region) suspended, this Tuesday (24), the injunctions that favored incumbent companies in the food benefits sector, nullifying the effects of the decree that changed the rules of the PAT (Worker’s Food Program).
The decision was taken in favor of a request from the Union itself. , , (formerly Sodexo), , UP and Vegas had previously obtained favorable decisions in court annulling the effects of the new rules for VR (meal vouchers) and VA (food vouchers) cards proposed by the federal government.
Ticket says it was not notified about the decision and will not comment. Alelo will also not comment on the matter. THE CNN Brazil contacted the other companies and keeps the space open for positioning.
In the decision, federal judge and president of TRF-3 Luis Carlos Hiroki Muta states that the decisions go beyond the “objective limits of individual demands”, potentially causing what he called “systemic consequences deleterious to the stability of the PAT’s public policy”, since they misalign the uniformity of the program.
Furthermore, he highlighted the fact that, if valid, the decisions would prevent the “measures to correct structural distortions in the worker’s food market” from actually being implemented, as it would prevent the majority of customers from arriving.
In the document, Muta highlighted that the sector is concentrated, around 80% to 85%, in just four companies, all beneficiaries of decisions that would annul punishments if the companies did not comply with the decree and responsible for covering around 17 million of the approximately 22 million existing beneficiaries.
Furthermore, the judge incorporated arguments similar to those of the government when formulating the new rules into the considerations that support his decision.
“Over the program’s 50 years of validity, there has been a consolidation of market practices that divert a significant portion of resources from their social purpose, notably through the imposition of excessive fees on commercial establishments and the imposition of long financial settlement periods, to produce margin values aimed at granting discounts and various benefits to employing companies, as an element of loyalty used by facilitators”, he states.
“The burden of high fees required from commercial establishments results in reduced accredited networks and higher prices passed on to the worker, reducing the purchasing power of the benefit.”
to adapt to the new rules of the program, which provides:
- Interoperability and open regime: the benefits will work on any machine, without the need for accreditation;
- Acceptance by CNAE: acceptance becomes automatic for establishments with eligible CNAE, facilitating adherence, including for small businesses;
- Fee cap: the maximum rate charged by establishment brands was limited to 3.6%, with an interchange fee of a maximum of 2%;
- Payment term: the deadline for companies to deposit amounts to establishments was reduced to 15 days;
- End of the “rebate” (discount): The practice of aggressive discounts when hiring operators is prohibited, focusing the benefit exclusively on use by the worker.
Closed arrangement brands – which issue cards under their own brands and acceptance is limited to a specific accredited network of the operator -.
Representative of this part of the sector, ABBT (Brazilian Association of Workers’ Benefit Companies) “understands that the decree structurally alters the PAT, […] weakening consolidated benefit control and inspection mechanisms”.
It was also argued that the Executive Branch had exceeded the capabilities of the Legislative Branch when changing the rules. In its decision, TRF-3 argues the opposite.
“The rules established by Decree 12,712/2025 do not go beyond the regulatory power, since Law 6,321/1976 always structured the PAT as a public policy dependent on administrative regulation, including regarding the operationalization of the benefit, so that Law 14,442/2022, which initiated the process of updating the program now complemented by the contested decree, consciously used open legal commands, for infralegal completion.”
In the document, Muta also highlights that, as it is an Executive decree, the change does not require an AIR (regulatory impact study), which, according to him, “there is no need to confuse the lack of need for AIR with an abrupt change in the legal regime”.
The judge sought to refute other arguments from the incumbents by stating that “there is no violation of free enterprise, […] there is no price control, […] the constitution does not ensure the indefinite maintenance of a certain normative regime in order to protect a perfect legal act”.
Furthermore, it sought to clarify that “the implemented rules do not have a retroactive effect, they do not affect consolidated situations or agreements carried out and finalized under the previous regulations, and there is no need to talk about a violation of a perfect legal act”.
Regarding the deadlines, Muta opposed the companies against the decree, which stated that it was short to implement the changes.
“The urgency raised by the authors of the actions is evidently manufactured, since they remained inert for months since the issuing of the regulatory decree, dated 12/11/2025, filing actions only in the second half of January 2026”, says the judge.
The judicial decision against the Public Power, as an exceptional measure, goes beyond the ordinary right of the affected person to appeal, requiring “specific requirements based on proof of the manifest public interest or flagrant illegitimacy of the decision, associated with the demonstration of serious damage to public order, health, safety or economy”, according to the law.
Industry reaction
Representative of companies in the sector’s open arrangement – which allows cards to operate with brands (Visa, Mastercard, Elo, etc.) on any machine -, the CBBT (Brazilian Chamber of Workers’ Benefits) considered Muta’s decision “very relevant”, stating that it “favors the food voucher and meal voucher chain”.
“The decree is the result of broad public debate and represents an important step towards strengthening the PAT, correcting distortions that for decades favored companies responsible for more than 80% of the market, at the expense of commercial establishments, employers and millions of workers — the main beneficiaries of the program”, states the CBBT in a note.
“In the association’s view, the new rules will strengthen competition in favor of workers, reduce the rates previously practiced in the closed arrangement and encourage the wide acceptance of vouchers, giving more power to choose in which restaurant or supermarket to use the benefits. CBBT continues to defend innovation, fair competition and joint efforts to strengthen public policies that, in fact, benefit Brazilian workers”, he concludes.
