New Regulatory Quality Label System in Brazil

The Regulatory Quality Label System is part of the Quality Labels Programme, instituted by the Secretary for Competition Advocacy and Competitiveness (SEAE). The new system builds on the efforts made by regulators to achieve better performance while adhering to international regulatory best practices.

The system works as an evaluation scheme to assess whether normative acts have been developed considering a set of criteria. These include, for instance, whether a public consultation was carried out to identify potential regulatory problems. It also determines whether other solutions to the regulatory alternative have been identified during the process.

To obtain a particular grade, which varies from bronze to gold - the highest grade on the scale -, a selected regulation must undergo a Regulatory Impact Analysis. In addition, the regulatory agency should also consider aspects such as predictability, regulatory convergence, as well as a regulatory burden when drafting new regulations or editing existing ones. Ordinance nº 6,554 of July 22, 2022, defines the practices and criteria used for evaluation. They can also be found in the Regulatory Quality Label Manual, prepared by the Brazilian Ministry of Economy (Ministério da Economia – ME).

In September 2022, SEAE published the first assessments of Brazilian regulatory normative acts. All regulations analysed were classified as Gold Standard utilising the Regulatory Quality Label.

As regards the Label System, efforts are being made to comply with the recommendations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). These were published in its Peer Review report on Regulatory Reform in Brazil. The aim is to achieve even greater technical rigour about the normative acts.

The new system contributes to the achievement of high-quality regulations, which can be used as a benchmark for other regulatory agencies. By engaging in such an initiative, ME seeks to enhance the Brazilian business environment. To this end, ME employs the quality infrastructure dialogue to expand the debate on international regulatory best practices.

For support and to engage in this dialogue and learn more about the topic, please do not hesitate to contact GPQI Brazil.