FAS forces Apple to open an official service center in Russia

The American company Apple will open its first full service cycle service center in Russia. The reason for this was the cases that the Federal Antimonopoly Service initiated against the Russian “daughter” of the company from Cupertino in the summer of 2016.

The regulator saw in the actions of Apple (in this case, inaction, - ed.) Apple's violation of the antitrust law “on the protection of competition”. The message on the official website of the FAS says:
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The antimonopoly agency found that the actions of Apple Rus LLC, the sole supplier of Apple inc products to Russia, contain signs of violation of part 1 of article 10 of the Law on Protection of Competition on the failure to use Apple inc products (iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus) during its life.

The reason for initiating an antitrust and criminal case against Apple’s Russian representative office of Apple Rus was the appeal to a citizen’s office in 2016. Apple-certified service centers refused to replace the damaged display due to the lack of official supplies of such parts in the Russian Federation. A citizen was offered a replacement with a surcharge (apparently, for the purchase of a display somewhere “on the side”, - ed.), After which he turned to the FAS Russia.

Apple Rus is the only official supplier of the company's products in the Russian Federation. The FAS interpreted what happened as follows: if there are no official deliveries of a number of spare parts to the country, this violates antitrust laws, that is, Apple Rus is abusing its dominant position in the market.

Apple could have been fined for this representation, but unlike Google, which endlessly sues antimonopolschiki the last year and a half, Apple Rus entered into a settlement agreement with the FAS.

Lawyers of the company filed a petition for consideration of the case on the grounds of violation of antitrust laws in accordance with clause 5 of part 1 of article 10 of the Law “On Protection of Competition”. According to its text, the company could simply receive a warning from the regulator with the requirement to eliminate the violations, which in turn made the FAS. Based on the agreement, Apple Rus undertakes to open, before May 1, 2017, an official service center in the Russian Federation, which will provide a full range of warranty and other services for Apple equipment.

The actions of the FAS, with an eye on world practice, can hardly be called revolutionary: while in the rest of the world, especially in Apple’s homeland, in the United States, the manufacturing company is fighting for the right to free repair of Apple equipment by any service centers; authorized by Apple itself. And, apparently, the company from Cupertino does not plan to start them, choosing the path of opening a single service center under its own control instead of supplying spare parts to its partners in Russia.

It should be noted that Apple Rus will not get out of the FAS: the department did not close the case against the company, but simply postponed its consideration to a later date than May 1, 2017. If the Apple representative does not fulfill his promise, then the "amicable" decision of the issue can be forgotten. The fact that the FAS is not afraid to fine and sue the technological giants is clearly visible on the history of Google.