New Brazilian Antitrust Law Enacted

On December 1, 2011, after nearly seven years of ongoing deliberations, President Dilma Rouseff finally sanctioned the bill of law amending several sections of the Brazilian Antitrust Law.

Bill of Law N. 3,937/04 has amended Law N. 8,884/94, Brazil's so-called Antitrust Law, introducing significant changes to the Brazilian Competition/Antitrust System, namely: (i) a restructuring of the antitrust authorities; (ii) new merger control review rules and criteria; and (iii) a new definition of anticompetitive behaviours and the penalties imposed for violation. Such Bill of Law has been sanctioned by the President with a few vetoes (some of which will be explained below) and was published in the Official Gazette on December 1, 2011.