OREANDA-NEWS. September 03, 2012. Moscow Arbitration Court dismissed a claim of the Federal Agency for State Property Management (Rosimuschestvo) to invalidate the decision and determination of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia), reported the press-centre of FAS Russia. 

In December 2011, FAS received a petition from a physical person and opened a case against Rosimuschestvo. FAS found that the Agency violated Part 1Article 15 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” (competition-restricting actions by federal executive bodies). The FAS Commission found that the federal body sold property (repossessed and confiscated), for which the Russian Federation gained the title, without competitive bidding.

The agency sold Maserati М 128 GT vehicle, transferred to Rosimuschestvo by a ruling Zelenograd District Court, Moscow, in March 2010. Information about selling the vehicle was published on the official web-site of the Agency and in the “State Property” bulletin.

The buying-and-selling contract was concluded in April 2011 with a physical person who was the first to file an application to conclude the contract: by direct sale (without competitive bidding).

Transferring ownership rights and other property rights for state and municipal property by the authorities and local self-government bodies without public procedures creates more advantageous conditions for a particular person in comparison with other persons interested in buying the property, which eliminates competition.

FAS issued a determination to the Federal Agency for State Property Management to sell property, the title for which had been gained by Russian Federation according to the procedures established by the Federal Law “On Privatizing State and Municipal Property”.

Rosimuschestvo disagreed with FAS decision and determination and filed a lawsuit to Moscow Arbitration Court to invalidate them. Representatives of Rosimuschestvo claimed that when selling the property the Agency had been governed by the Regulations on accounting, evaluation and disposal of property transferred to the state ownership.

The Court, however, found that according to the Regulations, Rosimuschestvo must sell property in compliance with the current law, and the Regulations do not establish the sales procedures. The Court dismissed the Agency claim, and supported the FAS decision.

Reference:

The authorities and local self-government bodies transfer ownership rights and other property rights to economic entities or physical persons through public procedures if the law of the Russian Federation makes such procedures mandatory, or by direct sales (without competitive bidding).

Under the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, property in state ownership can be transferred to the ownership of physical persons and legal entities under the procedures specified by the laws on privatizing state property.

Thus, the property transferred to state ownership must be sold in accordance with the procedures specified in the Federal Law “On Privatizing State and Municipal Property”.