Jornal da Tarde, 14/12/2004

Governor Geraldo Alckmin yesterday sent to the Legislative Assembly a bill that provides for the revocation of the license of gas stations caught with adulterated fuel. Alckmin also asked parliamentarians to vote on the proposal as a matter of urgency. The text has only four articles. In the first, it says that the registration in the ICMS registry will be canceled every establishment that acquires, distributes, transports, stores or resells oil products, alcohol and other non-standard fuels.
The third explains the implications of the loss of registration: according to the text, the cancellation "disables the establishment of the practice of operations related to the circulation of goods and the provision of interstate, municipal or communication services". The rest of the project refers to the documents necessary to prove the adulteration: the reports of the National Petroleum Agency or associated entities.

The growing number of gas stations that sell adulterated gasoline has generated constant numbers from the ANP and the Civil Police. At the beginning of last month, police officers from the Capital, ABC and Interior did a mega-operation. 238 posts were inspected: 153 (60,9%) of them were irregular. In the most severe cases, gasoline containing 70% alcohol was found (the maximum allowed limit is 25%).

The high percentage of irregularities in the blitz, however, does not mean that more than half of the state posts deceive consumers. In the operation, the police went to places already reported.

Even so, the estimate is that at least 10% of the stations in São Paulo (that is: one in ten) work with substandard fuels. According to data obtained by CPI dos Combustíveis, it is believed that in São Paulo alone, 93 million liters baptized are produced per month. The profit generated by the dirty business, however, has caused complications in the inspection itself. This year, two serious allegations of corruption have been made. One involved police officers. Others, members of the ANP.

According to experts, bad fuels, even if placed sporadically, compromise the catalyst, whose repair costs an average of R $ 20. The constant use of bad gasoline can damage the engine. The electronic system of most modern vehicles corrects faults in adulterated gasoline. The car does not choke. Thus, the driver may not notice and continue to refuel in bad positions, compromising the vehicle.