6 Regulatory Agencies in Brazil
To provide services or performing any economic activity in Brazil, companies have to obtain lots of licenses, certificates and authorizations. This article will outline the most important Brazilian regulatory agencies.
A regulatory agency is a legal entity linked to the government, generally constituted as an autarchy. It is created through legislation in order to monitor services provided by private legal entities. These agencies do not only control the quality of the provision of services, but also regulate activities of some sectors of the country's economy. In Brazil there are a lot of these agencies linked to health, energy, food, environment, telecommunication and others. Below you will find the most important ones.
ANVISA
Anvisa is short for Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária, which is the National Agency of Sanitary Surveillance. It was created in 1999 with the intent to regulate any products or services that might affect Brazilian people health. Anvisa's scope of activity is not related to a specific sector of the economy, but is extended to every sector as regards to health issues.
The main area which Anvisa is in charge of is sanitary market regulations. Besides that, the organization is also responsible for coordinating the Sistema Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária, also known as SNVS, which is the National System of Sanitary Surveillance. The SNVS is composed by other public organizations which are directly or indirectly related to the health sector.
In the Federal public structure, Anvisa is linked to the Ministry of Health and integrates the Sistema Único de Saúde, known as SUS, which is the Public Health System. The organization has administrative independence and financial autonomy.
ANP
ANP is the Agência Nacional do Petróleo, Gás Natural e Biocombustíveis, which is the National Agency of Oil, Natural Gas and Biofuel. It is the organization responsible for the regulation of the activities that are related to oil, natural gas and biofuel industries in Brazil. It is accredited by the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
ANP goals are:
- To regulate the activities of the industries and trading of oil, gas and biofuels.
- To provide authorizations to activities developed by the regulated industries.
- To promote licenses and sign agreements regarding activities of development, exploration and production.
- To inspect if the rules were fulfilled or infringed.
- To promote development, market stability and a legislation to the energy sector.
- To provide geological or geophysics studies.
- To provide database of development and production.
- To monitor the energy supply in the country.
- To develop programs to monitor quality of services and products.
- To disseminate publications and lectures related to the energy sector.
ANATEL
Anatel is the Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações, which is the National Agency of Telecommunications. The agency is responsible for regulating and monitoring the telecommunication sector in Brazil. Anatel's mission is to promote the development of this industry in the country in order to create a modern and efficient infrastructure of telecommunication, capable to offer proper and diversified services to fair prices to all Brazilians.
The agency is responsible for:
- Implementing a national public policy of telecommunication.
- Representing Brazil in international organizations of telecommunication.
- Establishing rules and patterns for telecommunication services and products.
- Repressing infractions to telecommunication rules, imposing sanctions.
- Solving conflicts of interest between service providers of telecommunication.
- Promoting the integration of Mercosul countries to improve telecommunication services.
IBAMA
IBAMA is the Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis, which is the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources. This institute is accredited by the Ministry of Environment and has the mission to protect the environment and guarantee the sustainability in the usage of natural resources in order to promote environmental quality to the life of Brazilian animals, people and nature.
The main functions of IBAMA are:
- To act in national territory with power of environmental police.
- To perform environmental actions of national policies.
- To act in the area of environmental licensing.
- To perform the environmental quality control.
- To monitor and authorize the utilization of natural resources.
- To develop projects and create rules and standards to promote environmental quality.
- To create educational campaigns to encourage the environmental protection.
INMETRO
Inmetro is the Instituto Nacional de Metrologia, Qualidade e Tecnologia, which is the National Institute of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality. This institute is accredited by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Trade and cooperates with the Executive Secretariat of the National Council of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality, also known as Conmetro.
The mission of Inmetro is to strengthen Brazilian companies, increasing their productivity through the adoption of mechanisms to improve products and services quality, as well as to promote the confidence of the Brazilian society in the products commercialized in the country.
The main roles Inmetro is in charge of are:
- To implement national policies of metrology and quality.
- To verify the fulfillment of the legal standards related to the units of measurement, the measurement methods and measurement instruments.
- To guarantee the maintenance of the unit of measurement standards in Brazil.
- To strengthen the Brazilian participation in international activities related to industrial metrology and quality.
- To plan and execute activities of accreditation of companies to national laboratories and Brazilian organizations of inspection and certification, in order to promote the evaluation of products and services commercialized in the country.
- To develop programs of conformity evaluation to products, services and processes.
MAPA
MAPA is the Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento, which is the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply. It is responsible for the management of public policies to encourage and develop the Agribusiness and to regulate activities, products and services related to this sector.
The Ministry is subdivided in the following Secretariats:
- Secretaria de Defesa Agropecuária, known as SDA, which is the Agricultural Defense Secretariat. It is responsible for guaranteeing the origin, conformity and safety of products of animal and vegetable origin for human and animal consumption, and of inputs used in agricultural and livestock activities.
- Secretaria de Relações Internacionais do Agronegócio, known as SRI, which is the Secretariat of Agribusiness International Relations. It promotes the relation of MAPA with the foreign market and is responsible for promoting the national products and services of this sector and to encourage their commercialization abroad.
- Secretaria de Produção e Agroenergia, known as SPAE, which is the Secretariat of Production and Agri-Energy. This secretariat must create, monitor and evaluate public policies related to the development of the economy sectors linked to the production of sugarcane, biofuels, sugar, ethanol, planted forests and coffee.
- Secretaria de Desenvolvimento Agropecuário e Cooperativismo, known as SDC, which is the Secretariat of Agriculture and Livestock Development and Cooperativism. It is responsible for the adoption of sustainable practices to develop this sector in Brazil.
- Secretaria de Política Agrícola, known as SPA, which is the Secretariat of Agricultural Policies. This secretariat plans and executes measures to support the agricultural production by offering resources to the agribusiness financing.