Cade releases a preliminary version of the Guide for Cartel Penalties

Last Thursday (2 July), the Administrative Council for Economic Defence (Cade) released a preliminary version of the Guide for Cartel Penalties. Suggestions from society will be accepted until 1 August.

The guide presents the methodology being used by the Tribunal to determine the appropriate level of penalty for cartels based on the case law on the sanctions imposed by the agency between January 2012 and July 2019. The document is intended to provide parties and society with more information on how the Brazilian authority determines sanctions for cartel practices.

After several debates in and out of the agency, it became clear that a document on the subject should be prepared. The necessity for a guide was also reinforced by the publication, in 2019, of a document on the Brazilian competition policy by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which pointed out what could be improved in Cade's calculations of fines.

"With the publication of the Guide for Cartel Penalties, Cade will take a step forward in the competition defence policy, following OECD's recommendations and increasing the transparency of its actions and decisions", wrote Cade's president Alexandre Barreto in the explanatory statement for the public consultation.

The guide is non-binding and should not be considered a rule; that is, the authority may change the guidelines depending on the case under consideration.

Suggestions about the document may be forwarded to consultapublica022020@cade.gov.br.

Access the preliminary version of the Guide for Cartel Penalties.