The Draft Federal Law On Introducing Amendments to the Russian Federation Code of Administrative Offenses has been drawn up by the Federal Service for Defence Contracts (Rosoboronzakaz) pursuant to the instruction on introducing stricter liability for breaches of requirements imposed by the legislative and other regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation operating in the state defence order sphere, contained in Clause 1G (Paragraph 3) of Presidential Executive Order No. 603 dated May 7, 2012, On Implementing Plans (Programmes) for the Organisation and Development of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Other Troops, Military Units and Bodies and Modernising the Defence Industrial Complex.
A probe into the results of oversight activities conducted in recent years by the Rosoboronzakaz, the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation and the Presidential Control Directorate has revealed a considerable number of violations committed by executives of state customers and head contractors (contractors) carrying out the state defence order.
The Federal Law On the State Defence Order has imposed a number of new norms, the violation of which currently involves no liability on the part of state customers, head contractors (contractors) carrying out the state defence order, or their executives.
The provisions of the draft law are aimed at making state customers, head contractors (contractors) carrying out the state defence order and their executives administratively liable for actions or inaction, which caused violations of legislation or other regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation in the area of state defence order.
The draft law establishes a jurisdiction for considering violations in the area of state defence order and imposes the duty to consider administrative offenses under Article 7.321, Part 1 of Article 14.52, and the newly introduced Article 15.37 on the federal executive agency authorised to control (oversee) the execution of the state defence order in the person of its head, deputy heads, and heads of its structural subdivisions, as well as heads of regional agencies.
The draft law suggests amending the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation with new corpora delicti of administrative offenses, which envisage liability for the following:
- failing to abide by legislation in decision-making on restricted tendering;
- tampering with the procedure for determining the starting (maximal) price of state contracts under the state defence order or the price of state contracts while placing the state defence order with a sole supplier (executor, contractor);
- a sole supplier (executor, contractor) refusing to sign a state contract under the state defence order;
- ill-timed placing of assignments under the state defence order;
- breaching deadlines or procedures for paying for goods (work, services) ordered for state needs under the state defence order;
- breaching the terms of a state contract under the state defence order;
- committing a gross violation of rules of separate accounting with regard to results of financial and economic activities.
The draft law was considered and approved by the Government of the Russian Federation at a meeting on 6 June 2013.