ANTAQ Conditions Amazon Low Water Surcharge to Regulatory Approval

New system conditions charges to regulatory analysis and requires technical proof of extraordinary costs alleged by shipping companies

Published on 11/03/2026 4:06 PM

Brasília, 09/15/2026 - The National Waterway Transportation Agency (ANTAQ) will strengthen supervision over the collection of the so-called low water surcharge, or Low Water Surcharge (LWS), applied by shipping companies during periods of hydrological restriction in the Amazon Region. Under the new system, the imposition of the surcharge will be subject to the Agency's regulatory approval, with an individualized analysis of the information presented by each company. The measure was published in the Official Gazette of the Union (DOU) this Tuesday (15).

In practice, a simple notification of the intention to charge will not be sufficient for the surcharge to be applied to users. Companies must inform ANTAQ in advance, with a minimum of 30 days' notice, and present the technical, operational, and economic elements that support the measure, demonstrating the relationship between river conditions, operational impacts, eventual capacity reductions or additional costs, and the proposed charge amount.

The analysis may result in approval, approval with conditions, or non-approval. From then on, the Agency will monitor the application of the surcharge and may review its decision in the face of new information or changes in hydrological conditions, in addition to subsequently evaluating whether the impacts and costs projected by the companies were effectively confirmed.

Tacit approval and transition rules

The system also provides for situations of tacit approval. This may occur after the 30-day decision period, counted from a sufficiently instructed communication and discounted any suspensions for due diligence, or before this period, when a hydrological level or operational situation recognized by ANTAQ is reached. For 2026, the reference will be the official level of the Negro River, at the Port of Manaus, equal to or less than 17.7 meters.

As a transition rule, communications and due diligence already carried out will be utilized, without restarting the counting of deadlines, and there will be five days for any complements. Already established charges linked to reaching the 17.7-meter level may receive preliminary transitional approval, subject to review at any time by the Agency's Superintendence of Regulation (SRG).

The measure does not represent a prohibition of the low water surcharge or price fixing. Waterway transport operates under a regime of freedom in price and freight formation, but this freedom does not remove ANTAQ's competence to prevent abusive practices and verify whether extraordinary charges have a technical and economic basis compatible with the impacts effectively caused by the drought.

More than a year of monitoring

The decision is the result of a monitoring process that the Agency has been intensifying for over a year, during which it has requested information from companies capable of demonstrating the foundations and values of the surcharges. To date, however, the elements presented have generally not allowed for the necessary level of detail to prove the alleged extraordinary costs and their relationship with the amounts charged.

In the 2026 cycle, ANTAQ reinforced this action and reiterated to companies the need for prior communication and the presentation of the technical information necessary for analysis. The Agency also made it clear that the mere receipt of these communications does not represent automatic recognition of the regularity of the charge.

The action also occurs in the face of complaints and manifestations from commercial and industrial entities in the Amazon Region about possible abuses in the values practiced. The concern is that extraordinary charges without proper justification could increase logistical costs and have repercussions on economic activity, supply, and the prices of food and other essential goods in a region heavily dependent on waterway transport.

With the new system, ANTAQ seeks to reduce information asymmetry between companies and users and make supervision more timely and effective. The occurrence of drought, in isolation, will not be sufficient to justify an extraordinary charge: it will be up to each company to technically demonstrate its impacts on operations and the additional costs involved, allowing the Agency to assess the reasonableness of the surcharge before its application and monitor its effects during the dry season.