OREANDA-NEWS. July 23, 2014. The Council of the Federation approved a draft Federal Law “On Introducing Changes to the Federal Law “On Concession Agreements” and the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” drafted by the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation with active FAS involvement.

The draft Law contains several provisions aimed at developing and improving the institution of concession agreements in the Russian Federation, as well as developing fair competition in various sectors.

The draft Law comprises the following FAS proposals:

1. Investors can propose to a concession grantor to conclude a concession agreement, considering which a concession agreement can be concluded without a tender.

2. Changes to the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” are introduced that granting state or municipal guarantees by a concession grantor to a concession holder under the budget legislation of the Russian Federation, as well as property rights under a concession agreement does not constitute a state or a municipal preference.

3. Validity period of a concession agreement should be determined in view of the period for obtaining the amount of finance (revenue), determined by the agreement by a concession holder.

4. The rights and obligations of a concession grantor are added (to consider the concession holder’s requirements to change the essential conditions of a concession agreement, provide exhaustive and credible information to the applicants for concluding a concession agreement on a concession facility as well as access to such facility).

5. Additional guarantees for a concession holder are established (if new acts come into force, a concession agreement shall be subject to change).

6. Possibility of preferential rights for a concession holder to buy-out concession facilities is provided for.

7. An option of plurability of persons on the side of a concession grantor is formalized.

8. Conditions of a concession agreement can be changed only upon FAS approval in accordance with the procedures established by the Government of the Russian Federation.

Deputy Head of FAS, Stats-Secretary Andrey Tsarikovskiy commented the changes: “Amending the concession law will facilitate attracting private investments to the public sector of the economy, expanding the range of participants of concession agreements, developing fair competition, as well as protecting entrepreneurs, particularly, from unprincipled actions of government officials”.