OREANDA-NEWS. March 18, 2011. The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) found that “Yuhkuzbass Ugol” Coal Company” OJSC, “Evrazresurs” Trading Company” Ltd., “EvrazHolding” Trading Company” Ltd. and “Raspadsky Ugol” Ltd. violated the antimonopoly law (Clause 6 Article 10 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”), reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

The companies violated the law by fixing different prices in contracts with domestic and foreign consumers for supplies of coking coal concentrates without any economic or technological reasons that would justify such differences.

The differences between contract prices for coking coal concentrates did not depend on the volume of supplies and the transportation costs.

At the same time, FAS Russia did not establish the fact ov violating the antimonopoly law by “Vorkutaugol” OJSC.

The case was initiated upon analysing the market of coking coal concentrates in January 2009 – June 2010.

The violators are facing “turnover fines” (from 1% to 15% of the company’s turnover on the market for the past year). The size of the fine will be established in course of the administrative proceedings.

“Mechel” OJSC was not brought in the proceedings on the case because the company does not produce and sell coking coal.

“The difference in prices for the same goods sold to different consumers varied from 20% to 48%. The companies were not able to give convincing arguments to the FAS Russia’s Commission justifying such difference. The revealed facts of discrimination and infringing the rights of individual consumers happened because of lack of transparent sale policies of these companies in terms of determining the factors affecting the end-price of the goods. Therefore, FAS will issue determinations to these companies requesting them to develop the distribution policy that would ensure non-discriminatory access of consumers to the goods”, said the Head of the FAS Russia’s Department for Control over Industry and Defence Complex, Maksim Ovchinnikov.

Reference:

Coking coals grades 2Zh, Zh, GZH, and mixed coal concentrates Zh+GZh, Zh=KS, GZH+GZhP are used in production of metallurgical coke, which, in its turn, is used in metallurgical production for iron smelting.