The Administrative Council for Consumer Protection (Cade) initiated an administrative proceeding to investigate possible anticompetitive conduct by the Union of Retail Fuels and Lubricants of the Federal District (Sindicombustíveis-DF). The objective is to investigate the alleged promotion of uniform conduct between resellers of competing fuels.
According to Cade, the investigation, led by the General Superintendence (SG) of the body, also extends to the president of the union, Paulo Roberto Correa Tavares, due to “repeated public manifestations carried out by Sindicombustíveis-DF, about the need for price increases of automotive fuels practiced by retail stations located in the Federal District.”
The manifestations targeted by the process refer to statements by the union president, which took place in 2021, 2022 and 2023. In the process, Cade claims that the leader specified the values he expected to be practiced by the service stations, due to the increase in costs or of other factors.
Communications made by Sindicobustíveis-DF to retail stations are also investigated, which possibly induced the entity’s affiliates to raise the price of fuel in the values foreseen by the class entity.
“The SG/Cade recognizes the importance of the work of the unions in the organization and representation of the respective categories, but emphasizes that, in a free market regime and free prices, it is not up to the unions to guide the reseller market on how to price the sale of automotive fuels, each economic agent acting in the fuel resale market individually being responsible for making its own decision regarding its own commercial policy”, said Cade.
