FAS ISSUED A WARNING TO VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE RUSSIAN FUEL UNION
He publically announced that prices for oil products would be increasing above the inflation level from 30 March
FAS warns Vice-President of the “Russian Fuel Union” Non-Profit Association to refrain from actions that can violate the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” [1].
In the interview “How much does petrol really costs?/ Life in Aleisk/ Deputy” — Vice-President of the Russian Fuel Union informed that prices for petrochemicals at refueling stations would go up higher than the inflation level from 30 March 2020.
Coordination of economic operations by commercial entities and non-profit organizations is prohibited if it can lead, in particular, to fixing or maintaining prices.
Armen Khanyan, Head of FAS Department for Regulating the Fuel-and-Industry Complex and the Chemical Industry, emphasized: “The danger of such statements is that even if there are no objective reasons for increasing prices for some goods on the market, information about the projected growth can definitely provoke it. An aggravating circumstance is that the statement was made by a top-executive of the Union, which members include a lot of participants from different regions on the petrochemicals market. And the statement was made during the pandemic, in the period of considerable volatility of petrochemical prices on the world market.
FAS asks all market participants, corporate top executives and senior officials of the government authorities to refrain from careless statements, especially in the current conditions”.
Reference:
Part 5 Article 11 of № 135-FZ Federal Law "On Protection of Competition” of 26.07.2006 (in force as of 27.12.2019) prohibits physical persons, commercial entities and on-profit organizations to coordinate economic operations of economic entities if such coordination leads to any of the consequences specified in Parts 1 - 3 Article 11, that cannot be allowed under Articles 12 and 13 of this Federal Law or that are not specified in federal acts.
[1] Part 5 Article 11