The economic development Ministry wants to increase the transparency of purchases of state companies, which last year, according to the accounting chamber (JV), purchased goods and services 23.1 trillion. the Agency proposes to amend 223-FZ, which are purchased by state-owned companies: they may not be able to purchase goods and services from companies affiliated with the relatives of the staff responsible for procurement in state-owned companies. The bill is posted for public comment on the portal regulation.gov.ru August 29.
With each purchase the customer will be obliged to establish the requirement about absence between him and the party purchasing conflict of interest. Under the conflict of interest is a situation in which the head of the company that conducts the purchase or the head of contract service, a member of the Commission on the procurement or contract Manager is married to the beneficiary or the beneficiary company of the contractor or head of a company or a private entrepreneur — member of the procurement. The bill lists and other links, which will be regarded as a conflict of interest — parents and children, grandparents/grandparents and grandchildren, brothers and sisters (including half), adoptive parent and adoptee. Under beneficiary shall mean a physical person who directly or indirectly owns more than 10% of the voting shares of the company. Under the beneficiary — a physical person who has the ability, directly or indirectly, to control the actions of the company. To check the possible connection will be the responsibility of the company’s customers.
In the explanatory Memorandum to the bill States that the ban on the participation in procurement of natural and legal persons having a conflict of interest with the client, is already in place for procurement of government agencies. The representative of the Ministry of economic development reported that to check the affiliation is through the system of registry offices and the FTS. To talk about the impact the new requirement for the duration of procurement procedures, it is too early, she said.
Now the 223-FZ does not regulate the concept of conflict of interest, says Deputy General Director of “transparency international — Russia” Ilya Shumanov. He recalled that in late July, Prosecutor General Yury Chaika signed the order approving the plan against kickbacks and corruption in public procurement (this was reported in “Vedomosti”). “One of the points of the plan — the extension of the notion of conflict of interests at state-owned companies, state corporations and so on,” he says.
The new rule may cause the timing of the purchases will increase because customers will need to interact with the tax system and registry offices, does not exclude Shumanov. “The costs of companies it will not increase such checks do not take much time,” argues the officer of Russian grids.
The de facto norm is valid
A number of state-owned companies are now purchasing checks for the presence of a conflict of interest, engaged a private security service, said the procurement Ombudsman Sergey Gabestro. For example, in the Railways approved regulations on the exclusion of the conflict of interest, told the representative: “If such are identified, the employees involved in a conflict [of interest], can be excluded from procurement”. Employee Rosset also says that in the framework of the procurement procedures for these checks are held by the security service of the company. “In fact, the bill will simply reinforce the norm that exists in state-owned companies,” he says.
In “RusGidro” “at the conclusion of contracts is essential to provide information and supporting documents in respect of the entire chain of owners of the counterparty, including final beneficiaries, and the signing of the letter of guarantee about the failure of one-day firms to the performance of obligations under contracts”. The management of “RusHydro” provides annual declarations, which include information about ownership of shares (stakes) of other companies, including close relatives. These data are checked for the presence of a conflict of interest. “In the case of detection measures for settling it (the output from the founders, failure to sign contracts, etc.)”, — is spoken in the comment of the company .
The representative of “Gazprom” referred to the release of the company dated 19 April, which States that “at the conclusion of contracts and procurement much attention is paid to identifying risks related to the possible affiliation of potential contractors with the employees of the company.”
“But until now no direct responsibility, established by law, allowing you to take or not to take action to offending people,” says Schumann of “transparency international — Russia”.
Previously, the chamber drew attention to other imperfections 223-FZ, which does not allow to prevent the conflict of interests between customers and performers. In total the results of SP revealed violations of legislation on corporate purchases of more than 620 million RUB, the Company gave gospodryady subcontractors and earn on intermediary services, has established unrealistic deadlines for the submission of applications by participants of corporate procurement and has made major changes in the terms of contracts after procurement. In the 223-FZ there are no provisions aimed at improving the efficiency of spending, it allows the corporate customer to install an unlimited number of occasions when you can buy a product or service from a single supplier. “It carries risks of corruption and inefficient spending of funds”, — stated in the materials of the joint venture.
