OREANDA-NEWS. October 23, 2008. The State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation passed in second and third readings the draft Federal Law "On Introducing Amendments to the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition", clarifying the agreements about which financial organizations must notify the antimonopoly bodies, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

The amendments are aimed at developing uniform enforcement practice for Part 9 Article 35 of the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition". The current wording of the Law is not conducive to uniform interpretation by financial organizations, which cannot duly execute their responsibility to notify the antimonopoly bodies on the concluded agreements.

The new wording of the law clarifies the category of the agreements, about which financial organization must notify the antimonopoly bodies, and extends the list of agreements, of which company do not require to notify the antimonopoly authority.

According the Igor Artemyev, the Head of FAS Russia, "adopting the amendments on the obligation of financial organizations to notify the antimonopoly bodies about the reached agreements will make the antimonopoly legislation more precise. It will help financial organizations bona fide execute their obligations and facilitate immediate governmental control by the antimonopoly authority. Also the new norm eliminates one of unnecessary administrative barriers for small and medium businesses".

The State Duma also passed amendments to Article 53 of the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition", according to which small and medium businesses can sign property lease agreements for a new period without competitive tenders before 1st July 2010, except small and medium businesses specified in Part 3 Article 14 of the Federal Law "On Developing Small and Medium Businesses in the Russian Federation" and small and medium businesses involved in extracting and processing of mineral resources. The period of the above property lease agreements cannot be longer than 1st July 2010.

In accordance with the amendments to Article 33 of the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition", the period for processing petitions is extended if the transaction must be preliminary approved under the Federal Law "Procedures for Foreign Investments in the Business Entities of Strategic Importance for Russian National Defense and State Security" before the date of making a decision on the transaction under the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition".

A petition will be dismissed if under the Federal Law "Procedures for Foreign Investments in the Business Entities of Strategic Importance for Russian National Defense and State Security" preliminary approval of the transactions was denied.