Brazilian Court Temporarily Restores Syngenta’s Engeo Pleno S Registration
08 October 2026, São Paulo: A Brazilian federal court has temporarily suspended the cancellation of Syngenta Proteção de Cultivos Ltda.’s registration for Engeo Pleno S, allowing the product’s registration to remain effective while the country’s agricultural appeals authority reconsiders the company’s request to replace the cancellation with a substitute fine and a Term of Adjustment of Conduct (TAC).
The decision was issued on 6 October 2026 by Judge Leonardo Tocchetto Pauperio of the 16th Federal Civil Court of the Federal District (SJDF) in Brasília, in response to a writ of mandamus filed by Syngenta.
The case concerns registration No. 06105 for Engeo Pleno S. Syngenta had challenged administrative decisions that resulted in cancellation of the product’s registration following an administrative sanctioning proceeding linked to events in 2021.
According to the court decision, the proceedings involved the manufacture of batches whose composition allegedly differed from the formulation specified in the product’s registration. Brazilian authorities had applied provisions under Article 86, Paragraph 5 of Decree No. 4.074/2002, which provided for cancellation in cases involving fraud or unauthorised modification of a product’s formulation or manufacturing conditions.
The court did not overturn the underlying administrative finding. The judge stated that the seriousness of the conduct could not be disregarded and that, at the preliminary stage, the judiciary should not replace the administration’s technical assessment of the alleged violations.
However, the court identified a significant subsequent regulatory development concerning the product’s current formulation.
The judge noted that the formulation currently registered for Engeo Pleno S, including the concentration of bronopol that was part of the administrative proceedings, was subsequently reviewed and approved by Brazil’s three federal regulatory authorities. The formulation received approval from ANVISA through Resolution-RE No. 3.471/2023, from IBAMA through Official Letter No. 389/2024/COAVA/CGASQ/DIQUA, and from MAPA through Act No. 22/2024.
The court observed that the documents before it did not demonstrate that the cancellation resulted from a contemporary regulatory assessment finding the currently registered formulation unsafe for human health, harmful to the environment or agronomically unsuitable.
Court Questions Lack of Reasoning in TAC Rejection
A central issue in the case was the decision of the Comissão Especial de Recursos de Defesa Agropecuária (CERDA)regarding Syngenta’s request to convert the cancellation into a substitute fine and enter into a TAC.
The court noted that TAC Decision No. 5/2026 stated that Syngenta’s request was “not admissible” and that the company was “ineligible” for conversion of the penalty, but did not adequately set out the factual and legal grounds for that conclusion.
While the court stressed that entering into a TAC is not an automatic legal right of the company, it held that the administration remains subject to a duty to provide adequate reasons for its decisions, particularly when the decision results in the most severe administrative sanction affecting a product’s registration.
The judge therefore ordered CERDA to reconsider Syngenta’s request and issue a new decision that expressly identifies the factual and legal grounds underlying its conclusion.
Engeo Pleno S Registration Provisionally Restored
The court granted Syngenta’s preliminary request in part. Under the order, the effects of TAC Decision No. 5/2026 have been suspended, and CERDA has been given 10 business days to reconsider Syngenta’s request for conversion of the cancellation into a substitute fine and TAC.
Until the new administrative decision is issued, the effects of Act No. 59/2026 are also suspended specifically with respect to registration No. 06105 of Engeo Pleno S.
As a result, the registration is provisionally restored for the formulation currently approved by ANVISA, IBAMA and MAPA, subject to the other applicable regulatory conditions and restrictions.
The court highlighted the potential economic consequences of an immediate cancellation, noting that it could interrupt production, imports, exports, commercialisation and distribution of Engeo Pleno S, while also increasing costs and reducing alternatives for producers and agro-industrial supply chains using the product.
The judge considered the interim measure reversible because it preserves the administrative authority’s ability to make the final determination after reconsidering the matter.
Importantly, the ruling does not establish that Syngenta is entitled to a TAC or to conversion of the penalty. Nor does it eliminate the administrative violation previously identified. CERDA may still reject Syngenta’s request, provided that its new decision is adequately supported by factual and legal reasoning.
The ruling therefore provides Syngenta with temporary regulatory relief while leaving the ultimate outcome of the administrative proceeding unresolved.
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