OREANDA-NEWS. May 28, 2013. The FAS Commission found that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of the Russian Federation had violated Clauses 1 and 2 Part 1 Article 15 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” (prohibiting competition-restricting acts and actions of federal executive bodies). The Ministry restricted activities of non-state pension funds for mandatory pension insurance and unreasonably prevented such activities by establishing the requirements to non-state pension funds, rendering mandatory pension security, that are not provided for by the law of the Russian Federation.

FAS initiated the antimonopoly case against the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of the Russian Federation as the legal successor of the Ministry of Health Care and Social Development of the Russian Federation, earlier exercising the functions of devising and implementing national policy and regulation in pension system.

In May 2012 the Ministry of Health Care and Social Development established an obligation for non-state funds, in the form of the standard contract on mandatory pension security between a non-state pension fund and an insured person and in the Standard Insurance Regulations of a Non-State Fund, to maintain monetary value of property to support statutory activities at 100 million Rubles.

The FAS Commission has concluded that the property monetary value set by the Ministry of Health Care and Social Development to support statutory activities of non-state pension funds did not match the property monetary value set by the Federal Law “On Non-State Pension Funds”, and unreasonably prevents activities on mandatory pension security for non-state pension funds that filed applications on their intentions to exercise activities on mandatory pension security by 1st July 2009.

The FAS Commission issued a determination to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to eliminate the violations.

Reference:

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

1) Introducing restrictions for establishing economic entities in a particular field of activities, and prohibiting or restricting particular types of activities or production of certain types of goods;

2) Unreasonably preventing activities of economic entities, particularly, by fixing requirements to goods or economic entities that are not provided for by the law of the Russian Federation.

2. Under Clause 3 of No. 363 Order of the President of the Russian Federation “On the Structure of the Federal Executive Bodies” of 21st May 2012, the functions for devising and implementing state policy and regulation in pension security, including non-state, are assigned to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of the Russian Federation;

3. The form of the standard contract on mandatory pension security between a non-state pension fund and an insured person is approved by No.523n Order of the Ministry of Health Care and Social Development of 19th July 2010. The Standard Insurance Regulations of a Non-State Fund are approved by No.731n Order of the Ministry of Health Care and Social Development of 26th August 2010.