The Ministry of Economy instituted a new federal government program aimed at reinforcing the provision of the Law of Economic Freedom (Law n. 13.874/2019) on regulatory abuse. The program intends to identify and remove barriers to market composition and free initiative and, therefore, improve conditions for employment and investment.
Normative Instruction n. 97/2020 of the Special Secretariat of Productivity, Employment and Competitiveness at the Ministry of Economy (SEPEC/ME) implemented the program “Intensive Front for Regulatory and Competition Assessment” (FIARC, in the Portuguese acronym), aimed at countering regulatory abuse.
Regulatory abuse is defined by article 4 of the Law of Economic Freedom (Law n. 13.874/2019) as nine specific situations, related to barriers to market composition and free initiative, which the normative instruction further clarifies.
The FIARC program enacted a guideline mandate within the Ministry of Economy, establishing provisions on the monitoring and assessment of market competitiveness and regulatory framework, covering federal, state and municipal levels of government. The Ministry of Economy can also propose improving regulatory modifications across those levels of government. The normative instruction clarifies the legal basis for that guideline mandate.
The new program seeks to contribute to the improvement of the regulatory framework in all sectors, aligning their regulations to best international practices. Simplifying the regulatory framework and assessing its abusive potential seeks to improve conditions for employment and investment.
