Cade opens lawsuit against Suape concessionaire for anti-competitive practices

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The General Superintendence of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) initiated proceedings to investigate alleged anti-competitive practices on the part of Tecon Suape – concessionaire of the Port of Suape, in Pernambuco.


The investigation of the case began in June 2015, based on representation made by the companies Atlântico Terminais and Suata Serviços Unificado de Armazenagem e Terminal Andegado, belonging to the Localfrio group. Both are providers of bonded storage services in the retro area of ​​the Port of Suape, of which Tecon has a monopoly on port operation activity.

The companies allege that Tecon is B2B Lead unduly charging independent customs facilities an additional fee to the basic tariff, informally known as THC2, for the ground movement of imported cargo. The collection began in January 2011.

According to SG/Cade's opinion, the THC2 charge would have affected competition in the market, artificially increasing Tecon's revenue. Furthermore, it would make the activity of independent customs offices more difficult, making them a less competitive option for importers.

With the opening of the administrative process, Tecon will be notified to present a defense. At the end of the procedural instruction, the General Superintendence will give its opinion on whether to condemn or close the case, forwarding it for judgment by the CADE Court, responsible for the final decision.

THC2
When importing goods, the THC (Terminal Handling Charge) is the basic tariff that the shipowner (responsible for maritime transport and delivery of the cargo from the importer who contracted it at the port of destination) pays to the port operator (responsible for the unloading operation of ships and delivery of cargo to the storage location). The tariff includes the costs of horizontal movement of containers on land, from the moment of unloading the ship until delivery to the customs area (responsible for the storage and customs clearance of goods coming from abroad) contracted by the importer.



Usually, port operators, such as Tecon Suape, also provide storage services, competing in this market with independent bonded facilities. THC2 consists of the port operator charging another fee, in addition to the basic fee, for “container segregation” from independent customs areas.