Learn how to report abusive gasoline prices.
The National Consumer Secretariat will receive and investigate information on abusive fuel prices starting this Friday (3)
Infomoney - The Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) has set a five-day deadline for state, municipal and civil society entities to report abusive practices in the sale of fuel. The deadline begins this Friday (3).
Complaints should be sent to the National Consumer Secretariat. “These practices can range from the so-called cartel, that is, the standardization of prices in cities or states or regions, or even the large discrepancy that is already seen in some places in our country,” said Minister Flávio Dino, in a press conference this Thursday (2).
Based on the information received, the possibility of opening proceedings to investigate the complaint will be analyzed.
“I have seen retail outlets in some states saying that the problem is with the distributors. It doesn’t matter. We will assess this later. The important thing now is to verify the size of the problem. And there is no doubt that the problem exists. Just walk around and check the price difference of up to R$1 in the same city. Or, on the other hand, you check the absolutely standardized price,” said Dino.
According to the minister, with the regulatory fluctuations, some service providers or companies believe they can abuse consumers. "The free setting of prices doesn't allow for anything, because there's a boundary to abuse. So, you can have price fixing as long as it doesn't violate the Consumer Protection Code," he added.
This week, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad announced that gasoline will increase by up to R$ 0,34 at the pumps, and ethanol by R$ 0,02, with the partial reintroduction of fuel taxes.