Port Authority fails to comply with Antaq order to reduce fees at the Port of Santos

Antaq’s order, dated September 2, was motivated by the failure to carry out the works planned by APS (Divulgação/APS)

The Port Authority of Santos (APS) has not complied with the order issued by the Agência Nacional de Transportes Aquaviários (Antaq) to apply a 34.6% discount on Table III fees at the Port of Santos, which are charged to operators for the use of operational or land-side infrastructure at the Santos quay.

Antaq’s order, issued on September 2, was based on the failure of APS to execute the planned works using the over R\$ 600 million collected through this fee between 2022 and 2024.

The complaint originated from the Union of Port Operators of the State of São Paulo (Sopesp), the same entity that filed the initial claim resulting in Antaq’s decision to mandate the tariff reduction. APS filed an appeal, but it does not suspend the effect of the decision. In other words, the order must still be complied with.

APS’s response In a statement, the port manager said that since submitting the appeal on September 18, it has temporarily suspended the application of the fees.

“This goes beyond granting a discount: APS is currently not charging the fee at all, while awaiting the regulator’s decision on the appeal.”

However, the complaint states that before suspending the fee, APS had issued invoices for the full amount to the operators.

APS's statement also notes that it submitted a new works schedule to Antaq, described as “much more comprehensive and developed jointly with Sopesp.”

The union, however, disagrees with the inclusion of additional investments before the previously scheduled works are delivered. Furthermore, Sopesp opposes the inclusion of the Santos-Guarujá immersed tunnel in the financial flow of the tariff.