Federal Antimonopoly Service Prepares Next Legislation

Antimonopoly legislation amendments prepared by FAS will consist of three parts: first—technical amendments aimed at improving current standards; second—recommendations of international experts from the Organization of Economic Development and Cooperation; third—proposals from the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.  Igor Artemyev, head of Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service, announced this at a press conference..

The amendments will more precisely define:

• The concept of lobbying groups
• Procedures for establishing equal access to markets
• The concept of coordinating economic activity
• The concept of agreements and partnerships
• How to screen financial organizations, etc.

Moreover, punishments for price fixing will be strengthened. “’Retroactive fines’ are not possible here; most likely, one should expect a fine based on the value of the contract,” says Artemyev.

In addition, FAS intends to introduce the notion of mitigating and aggravating factors when calculating fines for antimonopoly legislation infringement.