OREANDA-NEWS. August 24, 2011. The Office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service in the Tambov Region (Tambov FAS Russia) for the first time disqualified an official for violating the antimonopoly law, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

Tambov FAS Russia found that “Kochetkovka Utility Networks” Municipal Unitary Enterprise abused its dominance on the market of heating supply services in Kochetkovka Development, Michurinsk, the Tambov region (Part 1 Article 10 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”).

Tambov FAS Russia forwarded the case file to the Court to impose administrative sanctions upon the Head of “Kochetkovka Utility Networks” Municipal Unitary Enterprise for fixing monopolistically high price on the market of heating supply services (the services for repeated access to heating energy accounting unit for consumers).

Michurinsk Town Court, the Tambov Region, pronounced legitimacy of the decision made by the Tambov antimonopoly body and disqualified the official for one year (Under Article 14:31 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Violations). “For the first time in the Tambov region an official is disqualified as a punishment. I believe this will force all executives to take thought how to organise the work of their departments solely in compliance with the law and, most of all, take seriously the law on protection of competition”, said the Head of Tambov FAS Russia, Elena Grechishnikova.

“We hope that disqualification, along with turnover fines and criminal liability will form an effective mechanism for protecting competition in Russia”, stated the Head of FAS Igor Artemyev.

Reference:

Article 14:31 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Violations) established administrative liability for an economic entity with dominant market position exercising actions that are recognised as abusing market dominance and are prohibited by the antimonopoly law of the Russian Federation – an administrative fine multiple to the income of the violator from selling goods on the market where the administrative violation was committed or disqualification for the period of up to three years.