The (National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency) approved this Tuesday (June 30, 2026) two resolutions that establish criteria to characterize the abusive increase in fuel prices. The standards will apply to retail resellers of liquid fuels, such as gas stations, resellers of LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) – cooking gas – and fuel distributors.
The resolutions accompany MPs (provisional measures) no., dated March 12, 2026, and no., dated April 7, 2026, published in the government package to contain fuel prices. The measures included in Law No. 9,847 of 1999, known as the Penalties Law, the administrative infraction of “abusively raise fuel prices”.
The agency will adopt the gross margin as a parameter to identify possible abuse. According to the ANP, the criterion seeks to neutralize legitimate increases caused by increased costs in previous stages of the chain, such as production, import or distribution.
The assessment will be made based on the gross margin comparison practiced by the same economic agent in different periods, and not by a general market variable.
Exceptions and deadlines
In situations of geopolitical conflict or calamity, a 70% increase in gross margin will act as an initial filter for eventual notification to the economic agent. The ANP reported that the percentage was defined based on the international experience of price gouginga practice associated with excessively high prices of essential goods in times of crisis.
In the initial draft, the filter was a 10% increase in gross margin. After the public consultation and hearing, the percentage was changed to 70%. The justification presented by the technical area was that international experience usually considers a 10% increase on the final price to the consumer, and not on the margin.
Once notified, the agent will have 30 calendar days to present documents proving any increase in costs. The deadline was also extended during the rule’s processing: it went from 10 to 30 days after contributions received in the public consultation and public hearing.
If the justification is considered acceptable, the conduct will not be classified as abusive. If there is no accepted justification and the agency presents the appropriate motivation, an infraction notice may be drawn up.
Approval was unanimous among the 4 directors present at the extraordinary meeting. After the publication of the resolutions, notifications and assessments already carried out by the ANP for possible abusive price increases will be reevaluated.
