Amid the impact of the war in Ukraine on the barrel of oil, the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), announced this Wednesday (2) that he put on the voting agenda of the House that commands the package of law that seeks to reduce the price of fuel.
Pacheco communicated the decision on a social network. “Next week, the two bills that bring measures to control the escalation of fuel prices (PLP 11/2020 and PL 1472/2021) will be on the Senate’s agenda,” he said.
“More than ever, given the rise in the price of a barrel of oil, we need to take measures to prevent fuel prices from rising.”
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the impact of sanctions against the country commanded by Vladimir Putin pushed oil to exceed US$ 110 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time since 2014. The increase should put pressure on fuel prices in the country and will serve as a test on Petrobras’ resistance with its readjustment policy.
The Senate tries to vote on two projects to ease the highs, but an impasse with governors has delayed the appreciation of the texts. Last week, the vote was postponed by Pacheco after senators asked for more time to discuss the proposals, reported by Senator Jean Paul Prates (PT-RN).
He also spoke on Wednesday about the rise in prices and highlighted the price of US$ 114 a barrel of oil. “Brent oil, a benchmark in the international market, rose 8.38% and on Wednesday morning was quoted at US$ 113.77. It is urgent to approve projects that can lower fuel and cooking gas prices in Brazil”, he wrote in a social network.
On the 22nd, the senator presented new opinions for the two bills, in which he retreated on some important points in the search for an agreement for the vote, but was unable to obtain consensus in the Senate.
One of the projects envisages the creation of a stabilization account used to dampen fluctuations in fuel prices, in particular due to variations in international oil prices. The sources of financing would be revenues from oil royalties, special participations and dividends paid by Petrobras to the Union.
The other establishes that states will have the option of creating a single ICMS tax rate on fuels. But while this is not implemented by the governors, the tax on diesel and biodiesel must be levied on a defined calculation basis, obtained by the moving average of the last five years.
The rule, treated as a “transition”, would be valid until December 31, 2022. In practice, the text acts more forcefully for governors to change the tax structure.
In October last year, the Chamber approved a text that provided for the collection of ICMS rates based on the average price of the two previous years – as it was approved in 2021, the calculation base would be 2019 and 2020. The project also determined the adoption of rates charged per liter consumed (“ad rem” model).
Jean Paul, however, initially discarded the version approved by the deputies, arguing that there could be a vice of unconstitutionality, for invading the autonomy of the states.
The Senate, the legislative house closest to the governors, had considered the House text invasive in relation to the prerogatives of the states. So the bill ended up initially being put on the fridge. After the rise in inflation and the public demand by the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), the president of the Senate decided to articulate to advance the proposals and try to contain new highs.
The single rate, when implemented, should be applied to gasoline, diesel, ethanol and cooking gas. In the most recent change, Senator Jean Paul Prates also included aviation kerosene. Although unified among the states, the rates may be differentiated by type of fuel, according to the text.
I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
