FAS appears in court on behalf of monopolist

The FAS appeared tired of standing on the side-lines, so it decided to take an active part on behalf of a monopolist in the legal dispute between Uralchem and Fosagro in respect of the cost of supplying apatite concentrate. For the FAS, it was a matter of honour, given that the court had ignored the recommendations prepared by the FAS.

At the end of March, the Arbitration Court of Moscow (the “Court”) ruled on the dispute between the Kirovo-Chepetsky Chemical Fertilizer Plant (part of the Uralchem holding group) and Apitit (part of Fosagro) in respect of a sale and purchase agreement for apatite concentrate for 2014-2016. The Court ruled that the price for each following year would be set as per the price of the previous year and would be adjusted for industrial inflation, thereby supporting the position of Uralchem.

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In the summer, Uralchem filed a claim against the FAS in regards of the legal status of the recommendations. This resulted in the FAS stating that the document was only a recommendation and did not need to be applied. “Now, the recommendations are being tested in practice, but formally rather than informally”, says Mr. Kulik of