OREANDA-NEWS. May 12, 2014. The Arbitration Court of the Republic of Bashkortostan allowed a claim of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) to partly invalidate certain provisions of the Law of the Republic of Bashkortostan “On Regulating Land Relations in the Republic of Bashkortostan” as contrary to the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”. According to the Law of the subject of the Russian Federation, land plots could be provided free-of-charge without competitive bidding to non-commercial organizations formed by state unitary enterprises of Bashkortostan.

The only such organization with a special status, however, is the Fund for constructing social housing in the Republic of Bashkortostan.

The Antimonopoly Service found that the Government of the Republic of Bashkortostan violated Part Article 15 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” by issuing in 2011 a Decree on the procedures for providing plots of land free-of-charge for housing construction to socially-oriented non-commercial organizations formed by state unitary enterprises of Bashkortostan, as well as by issuing another Decree that resulted in spending budgetary funds without competitive procedures provided for in the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”.

On 28th November 2013, the Federal Arbitration Court of the Moscow District pronounced legitimacy of the FAS decision and supported the rulings of the Courts of lower instances.

“Equality of subjects and mandatory public procedures with regard to such limited resource as land are restored”, commented the Head of Bashkortostan OFAS, Zulfira Akbasheva.