OREANDA-NEWS. November 12, 2012. Moscow Arbitration Court dismissed the claim of the Ministry of Agriculture and ruled that the FAS decision and determination conformed to the law, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

On 5th May 2012, the Federal Antimonopoly Service found that the Ministry of Agriculture violated Part 1 Article 15 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”. The Ministry omitted to amend its documents on compliance with the veterinary-and-sanitary requirements with regard to the objects of veterinary supervision in accordance with a Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation.

The Decree delineated the powers of the Ministry of Health Care and Social Development and the Ministry of Agriculture for regulation of legal relations in the field of control over the quality and safety of food products in order to exclude duplicating functions of Rosselkhoznadzor (the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance) and Rospotrebnadzor (the Federal Service for Customer Rights’ Protection and Human Well-Being Surveillance). The Ministry of Agriculture – Rosselkhoznadzor was only assigned surveillance over alimentary raw materials of animal origin that did not undergo industrial or thermal treatment.

The Ministry of Agriculture was obligated to make relevant amendments to the documents within three months in accordance with the Decree. The Ministry, however, failed to do it.

The Arbitration Court pronounced legitimacy of the FAS decision and determination to the Ministry of Agriculture to stop violating the antimonopoly law.