SUPREME COURT DISMISSED THE CLAIM OF “MOEK” PJSC REGARDING FAS DECISION AND ORDER

Earlier two courts confirmed legitimacy of FAS accusing the company in violating the antimonopoly law

In April 2018, FAS found that “MOEK” PJSC violated the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” [1]: the company ignored the pricing procedure for recording the heating energy volume that should be paid for by consumers.

As established by the Antimonopoly Service, “MOEK” PJSC and “Zdorovie” MPRTs - a branch of Moscow Prosthesis-and-Orthopedic Enterprise of the Russian Ministry of Labour concluded a heating supply agreement. According to the agreement, the amount of supplied heating power and heating carrier is registered on the basis of heating energy meters, which fully complies with the regulatory acts of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Instead of registering the amount of supplied energy on the basis of meter readings, “MOEK” PJSC applied a calculation method, which infringed the company interest.

FAS issued a binding order to the company that “MOEK” PJSC must terminate the violation of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” and estimate heating energy for the company in line with the norms of the Russian Federation.

The company disagreed with FAS decision and order and attempted to appeal them judicially. Appeal Court and Cassation Court confirmed legitimacy of FAS actions.

On 14 October 2019, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dismissed the claim of the energy company to consider the case by the Judicial Collegium on Economic Disputes.

Deputy Head of FAS Vitaly Korolev commented: “The ruling of the Supreme Court drew a line in the dispute and classified such actions of energy companies on estimating the costs of services as unlawful”.

Background:

“MOEK” PJSC is an economic entity that has the dominant position on the markets of heating supply services.

[1] Clause 10, Part 1, Article 10