New Federal Decree Regulates Renovabio Penalties
On April 17, Federal Decree No. 12,437/2025 (the “Decree”) was published, regulating recent amendments to the National Biofuels Policy (Renovabio) introduced by Law No. 15,082/2024. The Decree aims to strengthen oversight mechanisms regarding compliance by fuel distributors, as well as to improve the handling of related administrative proceedings before the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP).
The Decree provides for penalties against fuel distributors that fail to meet their individual decarbonization targets, including fines of up to BRL 500 million. In addition, noncompliance may be reported to relevant authorities – such as the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), the Office of the Federal Attorney General (AGU), and the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) – and may constitute an environmental crime under Article 68 of Law No. 9,605/1998 (failure to comply with an obligation of significant environmental relevance).
A distributor that is noncompliant with its individual target — and which has received an infraction notice that has been maintained by a first-instance decision from the ANP — will be listed in a specific sanctions registry. This listing will result in a prohibition on trading with other regulated entities and on directly importing products. Violations of this prohibition will result in fines in the same range noted above.
The Decree also establishes penalties for biofuel producers that fail to transfer due payments to sugarcane suppliers. In such cases, fines proportional to the number of unpaid Decarbonization Credits (CBIOs) may be imposed, up to BRL 50 million. Furthermore, the share of biomass delivered by sugarcane suppliers to noncompliant producers will not be considered for the purpose of issuing new CBIOs.
The Decree introduces new oversight instruments – to be defined by the ANP – to verify compliance by distributors with the mandatory blending of biodiesel into diesel (“Diesel B”), as established under the National Energy Policy Law. Distributors that submit balances inconsistent with supporting documentation provided to the regulator will also be listed in the registry and prohibited from trading or receiving fuel.
As for the improvements to the ANP’s administrative sanctioning process, the Decree prioritizes the use of electronic means for serving citations and notices to parties, aiming to expedite procedural communications and enhance efficiency.
The Environmental, Climate Change and ESG practice of Tauil & Chequer Advogados associated with Mayer Brown is available to provide further clarification on this topic.
