Brasilia — Amid the war in Iran and the endless back-and-forth of the conflict caused by the United States, friction between the oil and gas sector and the government, which was already in place, promises more chapters after the Executive Management Committee of the Foreign Trade Chamber (Gecex/Camex) extended the 12% tax on oil exports for another two months.
NeoFeed has learned that some oil companies are expected to intensify their strategy in Brasília and in the courts to challenge the tax levied on crude oil exports. And this fight is far from over — in September, at the end of the 60-day extended period of the tax, the government will reassess whether to maintain the tax for even longer.
In April, the Federal Court in Rio de Janeiro had already granted an injunction suspending the collection of the tax on these shipments for the oil companies TotalEnergies, Repsol Sinopec, Petrogal, Shell, and Equinor.
The federal government, through the Attorney General's Office for the National Treasury (PGFN), however, subsequently appealed. The Union's argument is that it used the import tax as a way to compensate for the tax revenue loss incurred by public coffers with the R$ 1.20 subsidy to lower part of the price of diesel charged to consumers.
In a new statement released this Thursday, July 9th, the Brazilian Institute of Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels (IBP), which represents the oil companies, expressed regret over the continued collection of the 12% tax on Brazilian oil exports.
The organization, which has harshly criticized this measure in recent months, has argued that the tax is unconstitutional because of its "clearly revenue-raising nature, further increasing legal uncertainty in the country."
“Maintaining the tax on the eve of the expiration of Provisional Measure 340/2026 does not correct the legal, economic, and institutional flaws of the collection,” the Institute argues. “The IBP warns of the negative impacts on production projects, investment plans, and business decisions, and reiterates its willingness to engage in dialogue with the authorities on this matter.”
The measure, the organization states, is inappropriate since it affects a strategic activity for the country—the oil and gas sector accounts for more than 50% of Brazil's trade balance—which is capital-intensive and dependent on stable long-term regulations. Furthermore, in their view, other revenue-generating mechanisms already exist for the government from the sector, such as royalties, special participation fees, and surplus oil revenues.
The estimated revenue from the export tax, the first time it was levied, was R$ 15.6 billion during the first four months of the provisional measure (MP) issued by the government to subsidize the price of diesel. This fiscal impact took into account Brent (the price of oil in the international quotation) at US$ 90 per barrel, which could vary between US$ 80 and US$ 90.
The Minister of Planning, Bruno Moretti, has reiterated that this tax revenue will offset the fiscal cost incurred with the diesel subsidy. This is known as fiscal neutrality: adopting measures that compensate for any potential fiscal impacts of the benefits given to fuels in the context of the current war.
The government's decision to tax oil exported by Brazil was made within the framework of the March Provisional Measure, which subsidized imported diesel, as part of the Executive's emergency policy to contain fuel prices after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East.
The provisional measure, however, expires this week. And the government's decision was to maintain the measure, this time through a resolution from the technical chamber of Camex, a collegiate body of the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC), which deliberates on foreign trade and defines rates for import and export taxes, for example.
