OREANDA-NEWS. March 20, 2013. The 9th Arbitration Appeal Court in Moscow dismissed the claim of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation on invalidation a decision and determination of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia).

On 5th May 2012, the FAS Commission found that the Ministry of Agriculture violated Part 1 Article 15 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” in the part of omission - the Ministry failed to adjust its documents on compliance of the facilities subject to veterinary inspection with the veterinary-and-sanitary-standards in accordance with a Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Under the Order, the Ministry of Agriculture must have made amendments to its regulatory documentation within three months. Omissions by the federal body created an artificial administrative barrier and discriminatory conditions for entrepreneurial activities through unreasonable requirements for mandatory registration (obtaining) supporting veterinary documents.

Reference:

1. No.1009 Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation “On the Procedures for Joint Regulation by the Ministry of Health Care and Social Development of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation of Food Products Quality and Safety Control and Organization of Such Control” of 14th December 2009 delineated the powers of the Ministry of Health Care and Social Development and the Ministry of Agriculture on regulating legal relations in the field of food products quality and safety control in order to exclude duplicating functions of Rosselkoznadzor [the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance] and Rospotrebnadzor [the Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare]. The Ministry of Agriculture – Rosselkoznadzor was authorized to control only alimentary raw materials of animal origin without industrial or thermal treatment.

2. Part 1 Article 15 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” prohibits federal executive bodies to pass acts and (or) exercise actions (omissions) that can lead to preventing, restricting, eliminating competition, except cases of passing acts and (or) exercising such actions (omissions) provided for by the federal laws.

3. On 1st November 2012, Moscow Arbitration Court pronounced legitimacy of FAS decision and determination requesting the Ministry of Agriculture to stop violating the antimonopoly law.