Sergey Puzyrevskiy: numerous by-laws create uncertainty of legal regulation in the tariff system

Deputy Head of FAS presented a concept of the Law on the basic principles of state tariff regulation to the Russian Counsel Association

FAS thinks that absence of an integrated system of tariff regulation resulted in the entire statutory concept being built up on by-laws, which creates uncertainty for the regulator and the judicial system.

The next issue is absence of clear tariff-setting procedures so all regulation is done “manually”. “This situation creates mistrust of consumers in the entire system of tariff regulation and bankruptcy of organizations, whose tariffs were set below the economically sound level”, stated Deputy Head of FAS Sergey Puzyrevskiy.

Deputy Head of FAS informed the legal community about drafting the Law on the basics of state tariff regulation.

“The first priority of the draft Law will be unifying approaches to tariff-setting in various fields of regulation based on the common principles and methods”, pointed out Sergey Puzyrevskiy.

“Informational openness will be an important regulatory element. In our opinion, the tariff-setting procedure must be transformed in the electronic form. The draft Law provides for creating a common electronic resource, integrating collection, analysis, document and materials processing”, emphasized Deputy Head of FAS. “If a tariff application is published in an electronic form in the Internet, new controllers will emerge through such actions – citizens, media representatives and NGOs that can consider in detail the cost items of natural monopolies and ask them questions regarding efficient use of finances in their operations”.

The next session of the Commission on Competition Law and Antimonopoly Legislation of the Russian Counsel Association will take place in Q4 2017.