OREANDA-NEWS. August 06, 2012. The Federal Arbitration Court in Moscow confirmed legitimacy of the decision and determination of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) on a case against a group of persons comprising “Novolipetsk Integrated Iron-and-Steel Works” OJSC (“NLMK” OJSC) and “VIZ-Steel” Ltd. that fixed excessive prices for transformer steel, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia. 

On 31st January, the FAS Commission established that in August 2009 – December 2010 the companies fixed excessive prices for their products sold to domestic consumers. The difference of prices for Russian consumers in comparison with prices for the products supplied to foreign markets reached 50%. The FAS Commission did not reveal any economic and technological factors, providing for such difference of prices, and concluded that these actions contravened Clause 1 Part 1 Article 10 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”.

Based on the case outcome, the FAS Commission issued a determination to the group of persons of “NLMK” OJSC to stop violating the antimonopoly law by fixing prices for electro-technical anisotropic steel 0.23-0.5 mm for Russian consumers at the level not exceeding the weighted average export prices for the similar products in the preceding month.

“NLMK” OJSC and “VIZ-Steel” Ltd. are the only manufacturers in Russia of electro-technical anisotropic steel 0.23-0.5 mm, supplied to transformer manufacturers.