OREANDA-NEWS. May 15, 2014. Comes into force No.385 Decree to extend for 5 years the period of the General exceptions between buyers and sellers, as well as the General Exceptions with regard to agreements between economic entities on collaborative research and joint use of research results and (or) research-and-development findings.

Prime-Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed the Decree.

In accordance with Part 2 Article 13 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” (No. 135-FZ), the Government of the Russian Federation, upon a FAS proposal, can introduce for a particular period the general exceptions with regard to agreements between economic entities.

The exceptions set requirements to agreements between economic entities that form certainty in applying the antimonopoly law by the competition authority, and clear criteria of lawful conduct of economic entities, facilitating violations prevention.

Initially the General exceptions were introduced for five years – by July 2014 (No. 583 Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation “On the Cases of Allowability of Agreements between Economic Entities” of 16.07.2006).

As commented the Head of FAS Analytical Department, Alexei Sushkevich, terminating validity of the General exceptions could make application of prohibitions of “vertical;” agreements by the antimonopoly bodies unpredictable for business. It also would enable discrimination of buyers by sellers or potential sellers. However, it will not happen for the next five years after No. 385 Decree on extending the General exceptions is signed.

“The General exceptions allow something that business call “exclusive dealership”, and we are convinced that under certain conditions it does not violate competition but even stimulate it”, said Alexei Sushkevich. “Also No. 583 Government Decree enables competitors to exercise all forms of research-and-development collaboration with concerns about the antimonopoly standards. In the opinion of the Government and FAS Russia, the benefits of such cooperation always exceed the losses from possible competition restriction”.