OREANDA-NEWS. August 28, 2008. The Arbitration Court of the Republic of Karelia upheld the decision and the determination of the Karelia Office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (OFAS Russia) on antimonopoly violations committed by the Minselkhoz (the Ministry of Agriculture) Office in the Republic of Karelia, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia. 

Earlier the Karelia OFAS Russia recognized that the Minselkhoz Office in the Republic of Karelia violated the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition" in terms of restricting competition and unreasonably preventing activities of economic agents.

In 2006 - 2007 over 50 companies petitioned to the Minselkhoz Office in the Republic of Karelia to coordinate locations of trout farms in the water areas in the Republic. In return, petitioners received letters with positive or negative conclusions. Although the executive body did not have the relevant authority, the outcoming documents failed to indicate the advisory nature of the letters. As a result, economic agents perceived the responses from the Ministry as conclusions, which imperatively allowed or forbade locating trout farms in a specific water area.

The Ministry justified many refusals by temporary cessation of issuing the permissions until obtaining the final findings of an ecological survey of the northern part of the Ladozhskoe Lake. At the same time, the Ministry did not object locating trout farms in the same water area by another economic entity, which contravened Article 15 of the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition". Under Article 15, the authorities of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation cannot pass acts and (or) exercise actions (lack of actions), which lead or may lead to preventing, restricting or eliminating competition. Particularly, unreasonable preventing of activities of economic agents is forbidden.

Recognizing validity of the decisions and determination of the Karelia OFAS Russia by the Arbitration Court obligated the Minselkhoz Office in the Republic of Karelia to stop preparing and sending letters on approval or refusal of allocating trout farms in the water areas, and possibility of preparing fishery-and-biological substantiation and projects of the trout cage culture farms.

The Ministry also must send explanations to all petitioners on the advisory nature of its answers, indicating that the Ministry doesn't not have the authority to approve the location of trout farms in the water areas as well as project documentation.