COURT CONFIRMED DECISION OF KHABAROVSK OFAS ABOUT AN ANTICOMPETITIVE AGREEMENT OF THE REGIONAL MINISTRY OF HEALTHCARE

VI Arbitration Appeal Court confirmed legitimacy and reasonableness of OFAS conclusions in a case against the Ministry of Healthcare of the Khabarovsk region, “No1. Regional Clinical Hospital” Regional State Budgetary Healthcare Facility named after Prof. Sergeev, “Clean Planet” Ltd. and “Novodez” Research-and-Production Association” JSC.

The Ministry and No.1 Regional Clinical Hospitalnamed after Prof. Sergeev violated the law by giving an access to the content of the auction documentation for procurement of disinfectants before the documentation was published. It enabled the violators to include the positions to the technical assignments that characterize the goods produced only by “Novodez” Research-and-Production Association” JSC, which denies a possibility of other companies to claim contracts.

As a result of the anticompetitive agreement, the contracts for supplying disinfectants were concluded between the distributors - “Novodez” Research-and-Production Association” JSC - “Clean Planet” Ltd. and 11 healthcare facilities subordinate to the Ministry of Healthcare of the Khabarovsk region.

Head of FAS Anti-Cartel Department, Andrey Tenishev concluded: “This case is a classical example of collusion between the authorities and business, the outcome of which is restricting competition. Positive judicial practice on such cases is an important element of intolerance to different types if violations of the antimonopoly law, which is especially pressing since we are expecting movement towards competition development, firth of all, from the authorities”.