OREANDA-NEWS. December 20, 2010. Perm Regional Arbitration Court terminated the proceedings on the lawsuit of “Lukoil – Permnefteorgsynthez” Ltd. The company attempted to invalidate and abolish the determination of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) on administrative liability of the company, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

Earlier FAS Russia fined “Lukoil – Permnefteorgsynthez” Ltd. 438 million Rubles for violating the antimonopoly law. In 2007 the company fixed monopolistically high prices for petrol, diesel fuel, aviation kerosene and fuel oil, fixed different prices for the same goods without economic, technological or other justification, and created discriminatory conditions for the buyers on wholesale markets of motor petrol, diesel fuel, fuel oil and aviation kerosene in the Russian Federation.

“Lukoil – Permnefteorgsynthez” Ltd. disagreed with the determination of the antimonopoly authority and filed a lawsuit.

However, at a court hearing on 15th December 2010 “Lukoil – Permnefteorgsynthez” Ltd. withdrew its claim from Perm Regional Arbitration Court on invalidating and withdrawing the FAS Russia’s determination to make the company administratively liable and fine it 438,093,651.22 Rubles for abusing market dominance on wholesale markets of oil products.

On 14th December 2010, Perm Regional Arbitration Court accepted the settlement between FAS Russia and “Lukoil – Permnefteorgsynthez” Ltd. about the circumstances of the 2009 case and reduced the administrative fine to 1% of the company’s turnover on the relevant goods markets.

In 2009, FAS Russia fined the oil company 1,999,361,304 Rubles for violating the antimonopoly law. The company withdrew goods from circulation, which increased wholesale prices for motor petrol and diesel fuel in January-February and May-June 2009, and was selling motor petrol mainly to the members of the same group of persons of “LUKOIL” OJSC, and aviation kerosene – only to the members of the same group of persons of “LUKOIL” OJSC.

However, on 14th December 2010, Perm Regional Arbitration Court accepted the settlement between FAS Russia and “Lukoil – Permnefteorgsynthez” Ltd., under which the company admitted the fact of violating the antimonopoly law and the antimonopoly authority accepted mitigating circumstances that constituted the grounds for reducing the administrative fine to 1% of the total income from selling oil products (motor petrol, diesel fuel and aviation kerosene) on domestic market (RUB 599,325,196).

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On 10th November 2010, another subsidiary of “LUKOIL” OJSC – “Lukoil – Nizhegorodnefteorgsynthez” Ltd. refused to challenge the decision and determination of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) that the company had abused dominant position on the wholesale market of oil products.

On 15th December 2010, FAS Russia received information that “Lukoil – Nizhegorodnefteorgsynthez” Ltd. had transferred the administrative fine – RUB 659,738,114.96 – to the federal budget.