The bill sent by the government () which provides for imprisonment for anyone who raises the price of fuel without just cause rescues an excerpt from a 1990 law, sanctioned by the former president of Mello and which was revoked in 2011, during the Dilma Rousseff administration.
Law 8,137/1990 stated, in its article 4, section VII, that “it constitutes a crime against the economic order to raise the price of a good or service without just cause, taking advantage of a dominant position in the market”. The section has now been resurrected.
The Collor administration was designed to combat hyperinflation. Now, representatives of the fuel sector view the project with concern, because they fear possible State intervention in price formation.
The project, which is being processed urgently, provides for a prison sentence of two to five years for anyone who deliberately raises prices. The fear in some sectors is that, if approved,
The text was sent by Lula as a mechanism to curb the abuse of fuel prices at the pump, amid the .
The article of the law implemented by Collor had been revoked in 2011, by the then president, when the Competition Defense Law was sanctioned.
Producers, distributors and resellers assess, behind the scenes, that the project leaves room for subjectivity in defining what would be a “justifiable” adjustment, which could imply regulatory risks.
The market compares the proposal to one that promoted an intervention in the electricity sector under the banner of reducing electricity bills.
The project is being processed urgently and if it is not approved by May 25th, the agenda will be blocked.
LINK PRESENT: Did you like this text? Subscribers can access seven free accesses from any link per day. Just click the blue F below.
