Fuel sector sees historic progress with milestone against persistent debtors

Fuel sector sees historic progress with milestone against stubborn debtors

Text approved on Tuesday night goes to presidential sanction

By Ana Flávia Pilar
— São Paulo

Photo: Bruno Spada/Agência Câmara de Notícias

The Chamber of Deputies approved this Tuesday, by 436 votes to 2, the bill that establishes a national framework to identify and punish persistent debtors, those whose default is considered “substantial, repeated and unjustified”. For experts and affected sectors, the new legislation represents a step forward in the fight against unfair competition and schemes that fuel tax evasion, money laundering and organized crime, in addition to reinforcing protection for taxpayers who fulfill their obligations.

The Instituto Combustível Legal (ICL) says that the new legal framework approved by Congress works as a “vaccine” against the financing of criminal organizations. The entity calculates that tightening the rules for persistent debtors could generate additional revenue of around R$14 billion per year for municipalities, states and the Union.

— Brazil chose legality. It is now up to us, civil society and the productive sector, to work so that this law is rigorously applied, transforming criminal debt into social investment — said Emerson Kapaz, president of ICL.

A survey prepared by the institute, based on public data, shows that the debt accumulated by persistent debtors, approximately R$ 174.1 million, already exceeds the total invested in public security by all states and the Union in 2024, which was R$ 139.6 million.

For 2026, the ICL defends the continuity and deepening of integrated intelligence and inspection operations, in addition to the approval of complementary measures. Among them, the improvement of mechanisms to identify inconsistencies in the acquisition of imported or domestically produced products.

The entity also highlights the need to confront the practice of the “white bomb” and the so-called “methanol fraud” (PL 5807/2025), reversing regulations that weaken control at gas stations and creating specific legislation to curb the irregular use of methanol, considered a public health problem.

The Brazilian Institute of Oil, Gas and Biofuels (IBP) stated that the PL of the persistent debtor represents an essential milestone in the fight against crime and unfair competition in the sector.

The entity highlighted that the clear definition of what a persistent debtor is is important to differentiate the businessman who faces momentary difficulties from the one who deliberately structures the business to avoid paying taxes, using tax evasion as a commercial strategy and as a predatory competitive advantage.

“The problem transcends unfair competition, representing a systemic risk to the formal economy, which finances other criminal activities and exposes consumers to poor quality products,” he said in a statement.

Eduardo Lourenço, partner specializing in constitutional and tax law at Maneira Advogados, assessed that the approval of stricter rules for persistent debtors represents a victory for good taxpayers and the formal economy.

According to him, by establishing criteria that differentiate occasional default from recurring and fraudulent default, Congress protects those who fulfill their obligations, reduces unfair competition and weakens structures that support tax evasion, money laundering and organized crime.

— The combination of firm measures against stubborn debtors with cooperation and tax compliance programs demonstrates institutional maturity and commitment to a more predictable, transparent and competitive business environment for the entire country.

How the identification of persistent debtor works

The project establishes objective criteria:

• Reiteration of debts: minimum number of tax infractions committed systematically during a given period;
• Substantiality: total value of default and relevant tax impact for the Union;
• Unjustification: proven ability to contribute, accompanied by the intention to defraud or the adoption of artificial practices to avoid paying taxes;
• Pattern of behavior: use of business structures focused on simulation, shell companies, fraudulent successions or recurrence of models already identified by the IRS.

This set of elements, according to the Revenue and the Attorney General's Office of the National Treasury (PGFN), makes it possible to differentiate the persistent debtor from the common taxpayer or the company in temporary financial difficulty, a concern that guided much of the construction of the text.

Once the persistent debtor has been identified, the project provides for a package of restrictions:

• Prohibition of participating in tenders and contracting with public authorities;
• Preventing you from receiving tax benefits or incentives;
• Prohibition of entry or continuation of judicial recovery, in cases where there is structured fraud;
• Adoption of precautionary measures by the PGFN, with the possibility of preventive action to avoid dissipation of assets.

The approved text also details that these sanctions cannot be applied automatically: they require an administrative, contradictory process, the possibility of defense and review.

Cooperative compliance and incentives

One of the central points of the report is that the project is not limited to punishing: it creates cooperative compliance instruments, such as the Confia and Sintonia programs, designed to establish a more transparent relationship between the Federal Revenue and taxpayers. Among the mechanisms envisaged:

• Prior self-regularization before opening punitive proceedings;
• Risk classification to identify taxpayers with good tax behavior;
• Compliance bonus, which allows the reduction of fines for companies that maintain a positive history;
• Permanent dialogue environment between Revenue and economic sectors to anticipate disputes.

The Treasury argues that this design, which combines harsh punishment for fraudulent structures and incentives for compliance, reduces litigation, improves legal certainty and contributes to predictable revenue collection.

Political impact and business support

The text also had support from business sectors. In a note, entities such as the Brazilian Association of Piped Gas Distributing Companies (Abegás), Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp), National Association of Railway Transporters (ANTF), National Union of Fuel and Lubricant Distributing Companies (Sindicom), Union of the Sugarcane and Bioenergy Industry (UNICA), Brazilian Association of Public Companies (ABRASCA), Association Brasileira dos Terminais Porttuários (ABTP) and the Instituto Combustível Legal (ICL) stated that the project fills historical gaps and modernizes the compliance system.

“Maintaining the current regulatory vacuum and the fragmentation of rules on the subject precisely benefits agents who operate outside the law, many of whom are associated with organized criminal structures that use tax default as a source of financing and competitive distortion”, says the document.

https://oglobo.globo.com/economia/noticia/2025/12/10/setor-de-combustivel-ve-avanco-historico-com-marco-contra-devedores-contumazes.ghtml