The Supreme Court clarified the rules for conducting auctions – Kommersant

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (SC) considered the case regarding the deposit for participation in regional and municipal auctions. In September 2021, the Housing Committee of the Government of St. Petersburg put up for auction an apartment in the center of St. Petersburg. The conditions obligated the applicant to make a deposit and enter into a written agreement with the committee before submitting the application.

Based on the complaint of Pyotr Ulyanov, the FAS recognized this condition of the contract as violating antimonopoly requirements for trading, and the committee was unable to challenge it in court. Courts of three instances supported FAS, having decided that such a requirement creates an administrative barrier and unreasonable obstacles for potential buyers to participate in auctions.

The Committee appealed to the Supreme Court and succeeded in transferring the case to the Economic College. As a result, the Supreme Court overturned the court decisions.

In the ruling, the Supreme Court indicated that the obligation of bidders to make a deposit is established in Art. 448 of the Civil Code (organization and procedure for tendering). Thus, the committee’s requirements related to the conclusion of a deposit agreement are based on the provisions of the current legislation and are applicable to all procurement participants, the board clarified.

The Supreme Court also noted that the antimonopoly authority did not confirm that the contested terms of the competition documentation “led to an unreasonable limitation on the number of participants.” In addition, Mr. Ulyanov did not submit an application to participate in the competition and did not refer to the presence of any obstacles for him to timely provide the necessary documents to the auction organizer, therefore the FAS should not have considered his complaint. As a result, the Supreme Court invalidated the decision of the antimonopoly service.

Ekaterina Volkova