Courts supported OFAS evaluation of actions undertaken by the Omsk Regional Ministry of Finances
On 15 September 2016 the 8th Arbitration Appeal Court confirmed legitimacy of the decision of Omsk OFAS that Omsk Regional Ministry of Finances violated the antimonopoly law.
In December 2015, the Commission of Omsk OFAS recognized that the Ministry violated Part 1 Article 15 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”: the Ministry restricted the goods consumers in their choice of economic entities that supply those goods. Such restrictions could have led to preventing, restricting, eliminating competition.
Investigating the case, OFAS Commission established that the Ministry, exercising its rights for determining the procedure of granting and allocating other inter-budgetary transfers in 2015 to rural settlements in the Omsk regions, creating conditions for priority buying the “Parus” software product, indirectly influences the choice of the product vendors (sellers). Thus, the Ministry restricted the product buyers (municipalities) in their choice of an economic entity that supplies such goods (products) as well as stimulated acquiring the “Parus” software product from vendors and restricted vendors of “1C” software product, particularly, “OmSoft-Consulting” Ltd. in their possibility to sell their goods.
The Ministry disagreed with the decision of Omsk OFAS and filed a lawsuit. The Courts of First Instance and the Appeal Court dismissed the claim recognizing legitimacy of the decision issued by the antimonopoly body.