PUBLIC DISCUSSIONS OF THE RESULTS OF FAS WORK TAKE PLACE ONLINE
Anybody can connect to the sessions that are transferred into the remote format due to preventing propagation of COVID-19
Regional FAS Offices conduct quarterly public discussions of the enforcement practice outcomes. Although the pandemic of the conronavirus infection has made its adjustments, OFAS have not put their work on hold, and instead are accommodating themselves to the new conditions: organize meetings online, broadcast them on their web-sites and in social media. It allows anybody who wishes to connect to view the meeting and learn the latest news of the antimonopoly practice in safe conditions.
On 15 April, Kostroma OFAS organized public discussions about control over public procurement, unfair competition and advertising in QI 2020 in the form of online streaming on YouTube.
Deputy Head of Kostroma OFAS, Oleg Reveltsev, reported about typical violations in procurement exposed by OFAS in QI 2020. A considerable part of violations by the ordering parties concerned approvals of auction documentations: giving biased descriptions of procurement subjects, fixing excessive requirements to participants, excessive requirements to goods, absence of a rationale for employing other markers. Oleg Reveltsev gave examples of the most striking cases of violating the advertising law and unfair competition in doing business.
Examples of judicial practice were also outlined at the meeting.
On 16 April, Tambov OFAS together with the Tariff Regulation Office of the Tambov region held public discussions of the law enforcement results in the form of direct online-broadcasting.
Head of Tambov OFAS, Elena Grechishnikova informed about changes in OFAS operations during the period of combating COVID-19, investigating urgent cases via video-conferencing, abolishing all scheduled inspections in 2020 as well as giving a three-month grace period for the imposed fines.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is a force majeure event. Tambov OFAS shall take it into consideration when working with public procurement complains under No. 44-FZ Federal Law, complaints under No. 223-FZ Federal Law and Article 18.1 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”, cases on administrative violations, petitions on entries into the Register of unfair suppliers and organizing unscheduled inspections. In some cases, procurements for the purposes of prophylactics, prevention and liquidation of the pandemic consequences can take place with a single supplier”, pointed out Elena Grechishnikova.
On 17 April, the Office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service in the Rostov region held public discussions over the results of OFAS enforcement practice in QI 2020. The meeting was broadcasted directly on the OFAS YouTube-channel, and as a result all concerned persons were able to follow the public discussions online.
Typical violations of the antimonopoly law, the law on contractual system, the law on advertising as well as methods of preventing and countering them were presented at the meeting chaired by Head of Rostov OFAS Vadim Korneev. Special attention was paid to exposing and suppressing use of anticompetitive schemes by procurement participants.