“TOMSKGAZPROM” TRANSFERRED MORE THAN 84 MILLION RUB TO THE FEDERAL BUDGET
The fine is imposed upon the shareholding company for violating the antimonopoly law
In 2017, FAS issued a warning to “Tomskgazprom” OJSC since the company’s actions had elements of violating the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”1. The company failed to execute the warning and the antimonopoly body opened a case for violating the antimonopoly law2.
Investigating the case, the FAS Commission has concluded that “Tomskgazprom” OJSC, which has the dominant position on the wholesale market of liquefied hydrocarbon gases, entered into a supply contract without taking into consideration offers of other market participants, which infringed the rights of economic entities in the business sphere and restricted competition on the market of liquefied hydrocarbon gases 3.
FAS gave an order to “Tomskgazprom” OJSC to stop violations of the antimonopoly law, conclude contracts with counteragents, introduce trading practices for sale of liquefied hydrocarbon gases on the domestic market, and start selling liquefied hydrocarbon gases through the exchange trade in the specified volumes4.
Investigating the administrative case, FAS ascertained the circumstances aggravating administrative liability: committing a long-lasting administrative violation5 and continuing the unlawful conduct in spite of the request from the competent persons to stop it.
The company was fined 84 564 995.36 RUB that it paid fully in January 2020.
Head of FAS Department for Regulating the Fuel-and-Energy Complex and the Chemical Industry, Dmitry Makhonin pointed out: “FAS is exercising control over order execution, particularly, how the company is implementing its trading practice and entering exchange trade with liquefied hydrocarbon gases”.
1 Clauses 5 and 8 Parts 1 Article 10 № 135-FZ Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” of 26.07.2006.
2 “Tomskgazprom” OJSC owns a plant for producing liquefied hydrocarbon gases – a mixture of industrial propane and butane – in the Tomsk region. The company is included in the production chain of “Gazprom” PJSC and as part of a vertically-integrated economic entity has the dominant position on the wholesale market of liquefied hydrocarbon gases, particularly, on the market of selling mixture of industrial propane and butane. Therefore, the norms and bans set by Article 10 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” are applicable to “Tomskgazprom” OJSC as an economic entity that has the dominant market position.
3 Liability for such violation is specified in Part 2 Article 14.31 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Violations.
4 № 3/15, FAS Order, № 3 Order of the Ministry of Energy оf 12.01.2015 (in force as of 16.01.2018) “On approving the minimum value of oil products sold through the petroleum exchange as well as particular categories of goods, produced from oil and gas, and the requirements to exchange trade, through which deals for oil products are concluded, and for particular categories of goods produced from oil and gas, by economic entities that have the dominant position on the relevant markets, and invalidating № 313/13/225 Order of FAS and of the Ministry of Energy of 30.04.2013.
5 Lasting over one year.