FAS drafted amendments to expand the rights of businessmen for protection of their rights in construction

Rachik Petrosyan: businessmen can appeal excessive requirements to the composition of requested documentation on a fast-track procedure

“Today we can promptly consider complaints of businessmen exclusively about breaching the deadlines for making decisions by the authorities. If the authorities request excessive number of documents, considering such a complaint and, therefore, FAS decision on the complaint, will take quite a while.  Adopting FAS-initiated amendments will sort out the issue and businessmen will be able to appeal such unlawful requests from the authorities in the shortest possible time”, said Deputy Head of FAS Rachik Petrosyan at the Steering Committee (Headquarters) on monitoring how the authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation, local self-government bodies and network companies observe the law on urban development. The Headquarters is led by Mikhail Men’, the Minister for Construction and the Housing & Utilities Sector.

According to FAS representative, in 2017, thanks to gigantic efforts of the Ministry of Construction, exhaustive lists on construction came into force and FAS has obtained legal grounds for fast and efficient consideration of complaints regarding actions by the authorities and network companies in the construction sector. “Earlier such complaints could be considered for several months, today it may take FAS only 7 days to consider a complaint, issue a decision on a violation and impose a fine up to 50,000 RUB. However, the grounds for accepting and considering complaints under the fast-track procedure should be expanded”, pointed out Rachik Petrosyan.

FAS highlighted such proposals to the Headquarters, which agenda focused on control over compliance with the exhaustive lists of the construction procedures. On 31 October 2017, at the meeting of RF President with the Government, it was emphasized that it is necessary to adopt radical measures to ensure that regional and local authorities comply with the law offering services in construction and observe the legitimate rights of businessmen. Earlier the Ministry of Construction, in view of information from the General Prosecutor’s Office, pointed out in the reports to the RF President that overall at the level of RF subjects, the main complaints in the urban development sphere concern actions by local self-government bodies.