If compared to previous years, in 2020 the number of incoming applications has increased significantly.  

The coronavirus pandemic has affected not only the number of incoming requests.  The spring lockdown made adjustments to their theme.  This was announced by the Moscow Region Vladimir Golovnev, when summing up the results of work with appeals from entrepreneurs in the past year.

“60.8% (4,797) of applications received during 2020 were related to the Coronavirus topic, 39.2% (3,094) contained complaints describing specific situations about violations of the rights and legitimate interests of entrepreneurs,” informed the Moscow Region Business  Ombudsman Vladimir Golovnev.

    In 2020, the Ombudsman's Office and its public receptions  considered 7,891 appeals in total. Most of them were submitted for consideration in the first half of the year.

    “For 7 months of 2020, we reviewed 6,287 applications.  For comparison, for the whole of 2019 we had 1,939 calls in operation.  In this regard, I want to note the invaluable role of our public receptions, which they played in the work with appeals.  Currently, there are 37 of them in 49 municipalities of the Moscow Region, ”said the Business Ombudsman. 

    According to Vladimir Golovnev, more than half of the requests (55.4%) received in the period from January to July 2020 concerned issues related to the observance (interpretation) of the imposed restrictions, 33.9% contained requests to ease the imposed restrictions and 10,  7% of those who applied sent their proposals on changes to the legislation to our address.  Basically, the proposals concerned the addition of the list of industries most affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

    Issues that were also often mentioned in the first half of 2020 are obtaining government support (subsidies, soft loans to pay salaries to employees, preserving jobs), deferring tax and insurance payments, as well as questions about the possibility of transferring a business online and remote work of staff. 

    “In total, on the main topic, excluding the so-called Coronavirus topic, we carried out work on 3,094 requests, which amounted to 39.2% of the total number received during the year,” Vladimir Golovnev recalled.

    The topics of complaints received in 2020, excluding those related to the Coronavirus pandemic, were distributed as follows:

25% - complaints about the action or inaction of law enforcement authorities 13.6% - issues related to land and property relations, 13% - violations in public procurement, 11.2% - taxes, 9% - administrative barriers, 8.2  % - non-stationary trade, 4.5% - abuse of a dominant position (resource supplying organizations), 4.3% - control and supervisory activities, 4% - housing and communal services, 3.2% - transport, 1.1% - construction, 2,  9% of requests - descriptions of specific cases of violations of business rights and interests.

    “In general, the efficiency of consideration of applications in 2020 is high in our country.  More than half (56%) of the cases considered are resolved in favor of the applicants.  This means that the rights of the applicants have been fully restored.  In 33% of cases, complaints are recognized as unfounded and 11% of applications remain in work, that means work with them will continue in 2021”, concluded Vladimir Golovnev.