Pre-trial appeal against decisions of supervisory authorities

According to statistics posted on the Gosuslugi website, in June 2021 the largest number of complaints was sent in relation to actions or inactions of the Pension Fund (1,934 complaints) and the Federal Bailiff Service (1,867 complaints).

And if any refusal of the Pension Fund can still be challenged by choice, both in pre-trial and in court, significant changes have occurred in relation to the bodies that are involved in state control and supervision.

From July 1, pre-trial appeal to higher authorities with a complaint against decisions of state supervisory authorities has become mandatory. The changes affected 19 departments, including the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Federal Tax Service, Roskomnadzor, Rosturizm, Rostrud, Rospotrebnadzor, Roszdravnadzor, Rostransnadzor, FSSP and Minpromtorg.

The purpose of these innovations was stated as following: “to reduce barriers both for control authorities and end users of services”. It is assumed that the electronic pre-trial appeal procedure will minimize legal costs and shorten the response time to violations even at the stage of consideration of complaints.

Let us look into the procedure for pre-trial settlement.

The applicant for the complaint may be:

- legal entities, sole entrepreneurs and individuals, in respect of which an event for state control (supervision) was appointed or carried out.

The grounds for filing a complaint may be:

• violation of the inspection procedure;
• violation of the procedure for appointing the inspection;
• disagreement with the measures assigned by the controller;
• disagreement with violations reflected in the inspection report;
• disagreement with the actions of an official in terms of the inspection.

A complaint may be filled out by means of:

Online or via Gosuslugi website.

Consideration procedure:

Within 1 day after submitting the complaint, you will be sent a notification of registration, then no later than 5 working days, the complaint is accepted for consideration.

Head or deputy head of the control body that carried out the inspection, or a higher control body in relation to the one with whose actions you do not agree, is authorized to consider your complaint.

The maximum period for consideration of a complaint is 20 working days from the date of its registration, but this period can be extended once for another 20 working days.

Decision on the complaint:

Based on the results of the consideration of the complaint, a final decision will be sent to you, in case of disagreement with which you can further appeal against the actions (inaction) of state bodies in court.

The new rules are not only aimed at relieving the judicial system of work, but also at establishing uniform rules, procedure and deadlines for appeals, which should significantly simplify the procedure for considering complaints and minimize the time for applicants to appeal.

If you are faced with a violation of your rights, freedoms and legitimate interests by state bodies, feel free to contact TEAM for expert advice - it is better not to postpone such issues. We will advise you on the prospects for an appeal and prepare a package of documents for filing a complaint.