OREANDA-NEWS. August 01, 2013. The Federal Arbitration Court of the Moscow District dismissed the claim of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation to invalidate a decision and determination issued by 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” omitting to adjust its documentation on compliance with veterinary-and-sanitary standards with regard to the objects of veterinary control in accordance with a Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Under the Decree, the Ministry had to make changes to its normative-and-legal documentation within three months. Omissions by the federal body created an artificial barrier and discriminatory conditions for entrepreneurial activities by setting unreasonable requirements for mandatory registration (obtaining) accompanying veterinary documents.

Reference:

1. No. 1009 Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation “On the procedure for joint regulation by the Ministry of Health Care and Social Development and the Ministry of Agriculture over the quality and safety control of food products and organizing such control” of 14th December 2009 separated the powers of the Ministry of Health Care and Social Development and the Ministry of Agriculture for normative-legal regulation of legal relations in control over the quality and safety of food products in order to exclude doubling functions by Rosselkhoznadzor and Rospotrebnadzor. The competence of the Ministry of Agriculture – Rosselkhoznadzor includes control over food ingredients only of animal origin that have not undergone 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 lead or 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 and 15th May 2013 Arbitration Courts pronounced legitimacy of FAS decision and determination that the Ministry of Agriculture must stop violating the antimonopoly law.