OREANDA-NEWS.May 05, 2012. The Antimonopoly Service suspects that the Federal Tariff Service violated the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) initiated a case against the Federal Tariff Service.

FAS suspects that the Federal Tariff Service establishes preferential conditions for import of Apple IPAD tablet computers with an embedded GPS module (a personal navigation system) to the Russian Federation, in comparison with tablet computers with an embedded GPS module of other vendors.

In No. TF-162 Teletypogram of 14th February 2012, the Federal Tariff Service recommended the procedures for determining the code of the Unified Foreign Economic Activity Classification of Goods of the Customs Union and Common Customs Tariff of the Customs Union (TN VED TS). For customs clearing Apple tablet computers with an embedded GPS module are classified under the 8471 30 000 0 TN VED TS code of a “computer” with со 0% duty rate.

In course of a preliminary investigation, the Federal Tariff Service refused to accept a proposal put forward by the Antimonopoly Service to apply the Teletypogram to all tablet computers with an embedded GPS module regardless of their vendors.

According to FAS, such the Teletypogram of such content applicable exclusively to Apple products can be in breach of Part 1 Article 15 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”.

Reference:

Part 1 Article 15 of No.135-FZ Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” of 26th July 2006 prohibits federal executive bodies, the authorities of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation, local self-government bodies, other bodies and organizations exercising the functions of the above bodies, organizations involved in providing state or municipal services, as well as state extra-budgetary funds, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation to pass acts and (or) exercise actions (omissions) that lead or can lead to preventing, restricting, eliminating competition, except cases of passing acts and (or) exercising such actions (omissions) provided for by the federal laws.