OREANDA-NEWS. July 12, 2012. The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) initiated a case against Moscow Civil Defence Department upon signs of violating Part 2 Article 17 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” – actions that resulted in restricting access to auctions, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.        

The case was initiated upon a complaint of “INSITES-MBD” Ltd. about actions undertaken by Moscow Civil Defence Department organizing open auction in the electronic form for supplying hydraulic release tools with a set of accessories to fire escape emergency units and emergency response teams in order to provide state-of-the-art technology, weaponry and equipment in 2011.

The auction documentation specified that the product to be bought at auction lots must be of a particular brand and model, or meet equivalency parameters indicated in the technical specification to the auction documentation.

According to FAS, equivalency parameters in the auction documentation indicated a particular model of equipment supplied by a particular producer “HOLMATRO” (the Netherlands), without allowing to supply similar (substitute) products from other producers, in particular, products that were highly competitive under their technical, functional and quality characteristics. It restricted access of such suppliers to the auction.

“If the investigation confirms the facts that the auction documentation was devised to meet the interest of a particular company, it will constitute the grounds for a Court to hold the auctions and contracts concluded at the auction invalid”, pointed out Deputy Head of FAS Department for Control over Industry and Defence Complex, Andrey Greshnyov.

The case is scheduled for 16th August 2012.

Reference:

Part 2 Article 17 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” prohibits actions in course of tenders, auctions, requests of quotations for goods (further on referred to as - quotations requests) that lead or can lead to preventing, restricting or eliminating competition, if the organizers or customers at tenders, auctions, quotation requests are federal executive bodies, executive bodies of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation, local self-government bodies, state extra-budgetary funds, as well as in course of tenders, auctions, quotations requests for procurement of goods, works, services for state and municipal needs it is prohibited to restrict access to tenders, auctions, quotations requests not provided for the federal laws or other regulations.