OREANDA-NEWS. January 28, 2014. The Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation (VAC) refused to transfer to the SAC Presidium a case of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) on violating the antimonopoly law by that the Ministry of Agriculture of the Tula Region granting subsidies as part of supporting agricultural producers in 2011.

On 31st July 2012, FAS found that the Ministry of Agriculture of the Tula Region violated Part 1 Article 15 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”.(1) It unreasonably refused to grant subsidies to “Mosselprom” CJSC as part of supporting agricultural producers that produced eggs, poultry and pork in Q1 2011.

In the issued definition (2) the Supreme Arbitration Court concluded that the antimonopoly authority proved that the Ministry of Agriculture of the Tula Region had violated Part 1 Article 15 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” and did not transfer the case to the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court.

“Thedefinition of the Supreme Arbitration Court is very important for establishing judicial practice on antimonopoly cases against executive bodies of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation that grant subsidies to economic entities as part of state support of agricultural producers. FAS is for openness and transparency of granting budgetary funds and equal conditions for access of economic entities to them. Violating those simple and clear principles can adversely affect not only operations of particular economic entities, but also, as a consequence – development of competition in particular sectors and competitive ability of the economy in general. That is why the antimonopoly control over actions of the authorities for allocating budgetary funds as subsidies is one of the most important and topical areas of FAS work”, pointed out the Head of FAS Department for Control over the Authorities, Vladimir Mishelovin.

Reference:

(1). Part 1 Article 15 of No.135-FZ Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” of 26th July 2006 prohibits federal executive bodies, the authorities of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation, local self-government bodies, other bodies or organizations exercising the functions of the above bodies, organizations involved in providing state or municipal services, as well as state extra-budgetary funds, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation to pass acts and (or) exercise actions (omissions) which lead or can lead to preventing, restricting, eliminating competition, except cases of adopting acts and (or) exercising such actions (omissions) provided for by the federal laws.

(2). See No. VAC-17181/13 definition of 02.12.2013.