SUPREME COURT SUPPORTED FAS ON CONTRO OVER DISTRIBUTION OF SUBSIDIES FROM THE BUDGET
20-07-2023 | 14:19
Antimonopoly control of tenders for subsidies is necessary to ensure non-discriminatory access to budget funds
Let us recall that in April 2021, the Omsk Regional Office of FAS Russia initiated a case against the Department of Urban Affairs of the Administration of the city of Omsk.
Department illegally allocated a subsidy in the amount of more than 33 million rubles to Omskelektro JSC for the overhaul of 10 apartment buildings. In this regard, the Omsk OFAS Russia recognized it as violating the Law on Protection of Competition*.
The city administration tried to challenge this decision, but the court of first instance and the appellate court upheld the position of the Omsk OFAS Russia. The cassation court overturned the ruling and declared it illegal, referring to the fact that the procedure for selecting recipients of subsidies does not fall within the scope of antimonopoly control.
According to FAS Russia, the selection of recipients of subsidies in the context of antimonopoly legislation is a tender, and the creation of discriminatory conditions for certain economic entities, including when receiving subsidies, is a violation of the Law on Protection of Competition.
Disagreeing with the conclusions of the cassation court, the Omsk OFAS Russia appealed to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. The Judicial Collegium for Economic Disputes of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation upheld the position of the authority that the procedure for distributing subsidies from state and municipal budgets is subject to antimonopoly control.
* Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Article 17 of the Law on Protection of Competition