Dmitry Medvedev has issued a number of instructions following the meeting On the State and Problems of the Development of the Fuel and Energy Industry in the North Caucasus Federal District held on December 10, 2012.

Follows the text of the document:

1.The Ministry of Internal Affairs (Vladimir Kolokoltsev), Rosfinmonitoring (Yuri Chikhanchin), Rostekhnadzor (Nikolai Kutyin), Rosfinnadzor (Eli Isayev), the Federal Court Bailiff Service (Artur Parfenchikov), the Federal Tax Service (Mikhail Mishustin) and Rosprirodnadzor (Vladimir Kirillov), in cooperation in with the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Investigative Committee, the executive bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the North Caucasus Federal District and the staff of the Plenipotentiary Envoy of the President of the Russian Federation to the North Caucasus Federal District, shall ensure that:

- inspections are carried out of housing and utilities and fuel and energy enterprises of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the North Caucasus Federal District to check for signs of violations of Russian legislation, including deliberate bankruptcy and non-compliance with court rulings;

- operational and preventative measures are taken to uncover and stop the activities in the North Caucasus Federal District of legal entities and private individuals stealing energy resources and money received from consumers for energy resources supplied;

- inspections are conducted to ensure on the territory of the North Caucasus Federal District the safety of long-distance oil and petroleum product pipelines as well as inspections of the activities of oil refineries and petrol stations for compliance with the provisions of Russian legislation, including in the field of licensing, occupational safety and taxation.

The results are to be reported to the Government on a quarterly basis by the 10th of the month following the reporting quarter. The report shall be submitted by April 10, 2013.

2. The Ministry of Energy  (Alexander Novak) and the Ministry of Regional Development (Igor Slyunyayev), in cooperation with the heads of leading executive bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the North Caucasus Federal District, the non-profit partnership the Market Board for Organising an Efficient System of Wholesale and Retail Trade in Electric Energy and Capacity and other organisations concerned, shall:

prepare and submit to the Government of the Russian Federation by March 20, 2013 proposals on the implementation on the territory of one or several constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the North Caucasus Federal District of a pilot project aimed at creating an integrated system for payment for the services of organisations that supply resources.

3. The Ministry of Energy (Alexander Novak), in cooperation with the federal executive bodies and organisations concerned, shall:

Study and submit to the Government by March 20, 2013 proposals on:

-         improving the rules of gas accounting, including tighter control of supply volumes and actual consumption of gas by legal entities and private individuals;

-         introducing amendments to the laws of the Russian Federation to establish the liability of gas suppliers and constituent entities of the Russian Federation for non-compliance (improper compliance) with the obligations on ensuring that communities and industrial facilities are connected to the gas mains supply.

4. The Ministry of Energy (Alexander Novak), the Ministry of Regional Development (Igor Slyunyayev), the Ministry of Economic Development (Andrei Belousov) and the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (Igor Artemyev), in cooperation with OAO Gazprom, shall:

Consider the feasibility of simplifying the procedure for limiting gas supplies to consumers (legal entities and private individuals) who are in arrears on their payments for gas consumed and report the results to the Government by February 7, 2013.

5. The Ministry of Economic Development (Andrei Belousov), the Ministry of Energy (Alexander Novak), the Ministry of Regional Development (Igor Slyunyayev) and Rostekhnadzor (Nikolai Kutyin) shall:

Submit to the Government of the Russian Federation by March 20, 2013 proposals on introducing amendments to the normative legal framework on improving the procedure for registering ownership rights of abandoned infrastructure facilities of the fuel and energy complex.

6. The Ministry of Energy (Alexander Novak), the Ministry of Economic Development (Andrei Belousov) and the Federal Customs Service (Andrei Belyaninov) shall:

Complete by March 13, 2013 the introduction of amendments to the common  Goods Nomenclature of the Foreign Economic Activities of the Customs Union and the Common Customs Tariff of the Customs Union that would bring the classification and descriptions of petroleum products into line with the characteristics stated in the technical regulations of the Customs Union On Requirements for Automobile and Aviation Fuel, Diesel and Ship Fuel, Fuel for Jet Engines and Fuel Oil.