The President of the Russian Federation has signed a Law according to which organizations can prevent violations of requirements of antitrust legislation by implementing a system of internal measures, known as antitrust compliance.
The provisions regarding antitrust compliance entered into force on March 12, 2020 and apply to the Law “On the Protection of Competition” on a voluntary basis. This means that if the company decides to apply these measures, it will need to develop internal regulatory documents (IRD) specifying the following information:
If the company is part of the same group of persons as another organization whose IRD also apply to this company, the use of existing internal documents is allowed.
It is important to note that information about the application of internal antitrust compliance documents should be posted on the company’s official website.
After developing the IRD, the company may send them to the Federal Antimonopoly Service (the Russian acronym – FAS) to be checked. The deadline for consideration of the documents is 30 days. If the outcome of the check is positive, the company will receive a statement specifying the fact that there are no violations. In the event of a negative decision, the company may face a warning, or criminal and administrative liability may be imposed for a violation of the rules of fair competition.
| Reason | Liability |
| Conducting unfair competition | Imposition of administrative liability (clause 1 of article 14.33 of the Administrative Code): for officers – a fine of 12,000 – 20,000 rublesfor legal entities – a fine of 100,000 – 500,000 rubles |
| Introduction of goods with illegal use of the results of intellectual activity | Imposition of administrative liability (clause 2 of article 14.33 of the Administrative Code): for officers – a fine of 20,000 rubles or disqualification for a period between 1 and 3 years; for legal entities – a fine between 1% and 15% of the amount of revenue from the sale of goods. |
| Establishment or maintenance of monopolistically high or monopolistically low prices, an unjustified refusal to enter into or unjustified evasion from entering into a contract, restriction of market access causing major damage to citizens and organizations. | Imposition of criminal liability on officers (article 178 of the Criminal Code): a fine of 300,000 – 500,000 rubles or in the amount of the convicted person’s salary for a period between one and two yearscompulsory labour for a period between one and three years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or be engaged in certain activities for a period of up to one yearimprisonment for a period of up to three years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or be engaged in certain activities for a period of up to one year. |
In addition, the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation provides for administrative liability for other reasons, such as abuse of a dominant position in a commodity market, failure to comply with a legal instruction of the antitrust authority in due time, the conclusion of agreements restricting competition, etc.
If the company’s activities are classified as low or medium risk, then in order to reduce this under state control, the company must apply antitrust compliance for at least one year.
If you have any questions about drawing up documents in order to comply with the requirements of antitrust legislation, please contact Acsour’s experts.
