Brazil has introduced new regulatory measures to strengthen oversight of mineral fuels, mineral oils, bituminous substances, and low-carbon hydrogen through Decree No. 13.094 and Decree No. 13.096
Brazil has introduced sweeping new rules for mineral fuels, oils, bituminous substances and low-carbon hydrogen, reshaping how importers, refiners and traders must document and certify shipments from 1 October 2026.
The measures, set out in Decree 13.094 and Decree 13.096, cover everything from crude oil to aviation fuel and hydrogen produced with renewable electricity. Every tonne of product crossing the border will now carry a delivered cost that includes new testing, carbon-intensity certification and, for the first time, a mandatory import permit issued before the goods leave the port of origin.
The new obligations in plain words
Every shipment must arrive with a pre-issued import permit1. The permit is valid for 180 days and can be used only once1. To obtain it, the importer must file a technical dossier that includes the product’s carbon footprint, measured in grams of CO₂ equivalent per megajoule (gCO₂e/MJ), and proof that the fuel meets the maximum carbon-intensity limit set for its category1. The limit for aviation fuel, for example, is 35 gCO₂e/MJ2.
Paperwork every shipment must carry
The dossier must also list every facility the product passed through—extraction, refining, blending, storage—and the carbon footprint of each step1. If the fuel is blended with biofuel, the importer must provide the Certificate of Sustainability for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (CS-SAF)2. The certificate is issued by an accredited verifier and must show the exact volume of biofuel used, its origin, and the greenhouse-gas saving compared with fossil fuel2.
For hydrogen, the rules are stricter. Low-carbon hydrogen must be produced using renewable electricity or biomass, and the carbon footprint must not exceed 4 kgCO₂e per kg of hydrogen1. The importer must also show that the electricity used came from a source that is additional—meaning it was built after 1 January 2020 and would not have been built without the hydrogen project1. The permit application must include a life-cycle assessment that covers production, compression, storage, transport and any conversion into ammonia or methanol1.
Who pays, and how much
The importer pays for all of it. The permit fee is R$ 5,000 (US$ 950; £ 730) per application1. Testing and certification add another R$ 12,000 to R$ 25,000 (US$ 2,300 to US$ 4,800; £ 1,800 to £ 3,700) per shipment, depending on the number of facilities in the supply chain1. The carbon-intensity test alone costs R$ 8,000 (US$ 1,500; £ 1,200) and must be repeated every time the product is blended or stored for more than 30 days1.
Importer’s bill per shipment, R$
The rules also introduce a carbon-adjustment fee on every tonne of fuel that exceeds the limit. The fee is R$ 500 (US$ 95; £ 73) per tonne for every gram above the limit2. A shipment of aviation fuel with a footprint of 37 gCO₂e/MJ—two grams above the limit—would therefore pay R$ 1,000 (US$ 190; £ 146) per tonne2. The fee is collected at the border and cannot be passed back to the exporter2.
What the rules replace
Until now, Brazil had no national carbon-intensity standard for fuels. Importers filed a simple customs declaration and paid the import duty—12% for crude oil, 14% for refined products, 0% for hydrogen3. The only requirement was a plant-health certificate for biofuels, and even that was waived for shipments from countries with a mutual-recognition agreement3.
Old regime versus new regime
| Requirement | Until now | From 1 Oct 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Carbon standard | None national | CI limit per category |
| Import permit | Not required | Mandatory, pre-issued |
| Traceability | Customs declaration only | Wellhead to pump |
| Biofuel check | Plant-health certificate | CS-SAF certificate |
| CBIO offsets | Offset emissions | Cannot offset the fee |
The new regime replaces that light-touch system with a full traceability chain that starts at the wellhead or electrolyser and ends at the pump1. It also replaces the voluntary RenovaBio programme, which gave refiners tradable decarbonisation credits (CBIOs) for reducing emissions2. Under the new rules, CBIOs can still be generated, but they can no longer be used to offset the carbon-adjustment fee2.
The timeline and the gaps
The rules come into force on 1 October 2026, but the government has already published the draft technical regulation for public comment1. The comment period closes on 15 December 2025, and the final text will be published by 1 March 20261. Importers who want to apply for permits before the October deadline can start filing dossiers from 1 June 20261.
Dates importers must watch
The biggest gap is the allocation of the hydrogen import quota. The government has set a 300,000-tonne annual quota for low-carbon hydrogen, but it has not said how the quota will be divided among applicants1. The documents say only that permits will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis until the quota is exhausted1. At current production costs—US$ 3.50 to US$ 5.00 per kg—the quota is small enough to be filled within months4.
The rules also leave open how the carbon-intensity limits will be enforced for blended fuels. If a shipment of jet fuel is blended with 10% biofuel in Rotterdam and then shipped to Brazil, the importer must provide the carbon footprint of the blend, but the documents do not say which verifier’s methodology will be accepted1. The government has promised to publish a list of accredited verifiers by 1 September 2026, but the list has not yet appeared1.
What happens next for mineral fuels and low-carbon hydrogen
The first permits will be issued in June 2026, and the first carbon-adjustment fees will be collected in October. The government has said it will review the carbon-intensity limits every two years, starting in 2028, and the hydrogen quota every three years, starting in 20291. The review will be based on domestic production capacity and the global price of low-carbon hydrogen1.
The scale of what is coming
The rules also set the stage for Brazil’s national carbon market, which is due to start in 20274. From that year, refiners and importers will be able to trade Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) to meet their carbon-intensity targets4. The government has not yet said how the two systems will interact, but the documents make clear that the carbon-adjustment fee will remain in place even after the market opens4.
The new regime is the first in Latin America to tie import permits to carbon intensity, and it signals Brazil’s ambition to become a regional hub for low-carbon fuels. The volumes are still small—300,000 tonnes of hydrogen and 2.5 million tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel—but the rules are strict enough to force importers to rethink their supply chains1. The delivered cost of a tonne of jet fuel could rise by 5% to 15%, depending on the carbon footprint, and the cost of hydrogen could rise by 20% to 30%4. The effect on pump prices will be marginal—1% to 3%—but the effect on trade flows will be immediate: shipments from high-carbon producers will be priced out of the market4.
Sources
- ↩ National Regulatory Framework for Low-Emission Hydrogen in Brazil https://www.gov.br/anp/pt-br/assuntos/hidrogenio
- ↩ WTO TBT notification 26-04261 — Brazil https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2026/TBT/BRA/26_04261_00_x.pdf
- ↩ Nota Informativa 12/2025: Classification of CNAE for Natural Gas Commercialization and Reduction of External Dependence https://www.gov.br/mme/pt-br/assuntos/secretarias/petroleo-gas-natural-e-biocombustiveis/gas-para-empregar/publicacoes/nota-informativa-12_2025-classificacao-cnae-para-comercializacao-de-gas-natural.pdf
- ↩ Hydrogen Technology Roadmap https://www.epe.gov.br/sites-pt/publicacoes-dados-abertos/publicacoes/PublicacoesArquivos/publicacao-899/Roadmap%20H2%20-%20EPE-PTI%20-%20Tecnologia%20(VF).pdf