In this article, Roberto Abdenur addresses the various types of fraud practiced by certain fuel sector companies with the objective of obtaining a competitive advantage, harming the consumer and the development of the national economy.

The Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition (ETCO) acts on several levels, with a view to contributing to the overcoming, by Brazilian society, of patterns of behavior harmful to the development of the country. An important transformation begins to occur with the gradual taking of awareness by the general population that the purchase of certain products at artificially low prices is detrimental to their own interests, insofar as what is at stake in certain cases is tax evasion for acts of fraud, forgery and corruption . Evasion that, of course, results in a reduction of resources available to government authorities for application in essential public policies, such as health, education, infrastructure.

The fuel sector is emblematic of this situation. In it, vested interests use the most varied devices to obtain illicit gains: from fraud, through the mixture of inappropriate products, to constant appeals to the Judiciary in the search for injunctions that enable the continued non-payment of taxes.

Some companies in the sector try to achieve competitive advantages by reducing, through unethical means, the final price of the product. Although the price difference may seem marginal, in reality the sale of large volumes - as is the essence of the fuel industry - generates huge undue gains, at the expense of serious and responsible companies, who regularly pay their taxes. This characterizes a situation of blatant unfair competition.

Conquering the market with the practice of non-payment of taxes, either by means of judicial remedies or by trying to offset debts with debatable assets, such as certain court orders, is something that affects the national regulatory system, stimulates unfair competition and deprives public coffers money needed to support public interest programs and initiatives. After all, it is the consumer himself who is most affected.

In view of this scenario, the courageous and forceful performance of the government of the State of Rio de Janeiro deserves full support in recovering the taxes owed by fuel companies in default or in default.

ETCO, in its mission to combat misconduct that harms the business environment, distorts competition conditions and damages the country's development, goes public to call attention to the serious problem of tax evasion in the marketing of fuels, and at the same time express their firm support for the actions of the authorities in combating this evil.