FAS INITIATED TWO CASES IN RELATION TO ANTI-COMPETITIVE AGREEMENTS IN THE MARKET OF SOLID MUNICIPAL WASTE TRANSPORTATION

FAS initiated a case against a regional operator for the treatment of solid municipal waste (MSW) Clean City LLC and the regional transporter of such waste Company Ecosystem LLC. The Agency suspects these companies of concluding an anti-competitive agreement in order to limit the number of potential bidders for the provision of services for the transportation of MSW in the Kurgan region and create preferential conditions at the auction for Company Ecosystem LLC.

Such actions of economic entities led to the fact that contracts for the provision of services without price reduction were concluded with the only bidder Company Ecosystem LLC. The total amount of the maximum starting price of contract amounted to 750,6 million rubles.

Besides, the agency saw signs of cartel collusion in the actions of 5 regional MSW transporters: Company Ecosystem LLC, Transservice LLC, Turaservice-N LLC, Ecotrans LLC, PTK LLC. The purpose of the collusion is to maintain prices at auctions for the provision of services for the transportation of MSW in the Sverdlovsk, Kurgan, Tyumen, Murmansk regions and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District - Yugra in 2019-2021, which led to the conclusion of most contracts at maximum prices. The total amount of the maximum starting price of contract amounted to 10.8 billion rubles.1

FAS notes that bidding for the provision of services for the transportation of MSW with violations of antimonopoly legislation leads to an overestimation of the price for the provision of such services and an increase in the costs of citizens to pay for utilities.

If the companies will be found liable, they will face turnover fines in accordance with the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation.