MOSCOW, March 26 - RAPSI. The Federal Antimonopoly Service will start checking large state companies to ensure that they follow the law on purchases made by government-owned legal entities, Andrei Tsarikovsky, the service's deputy head, told journalists on Monday.

The law "On Purchases of Goods, Work and Services by Individual Types of Legal Entities" came into effect on January 1.

Pursuant to the law, all state corporations, natural monopolies and companies, in which the state or the municipality has a stake of over 50 percent, must make purchases according to the principles outlined in the law on the government order. These structures must officially publish the provisions regulating the orders by April 1.

Tsarikovsky noted that the requirements on purchasing enterprises controlled by the government are less tough than the requirements on government orders. Corporations and natural monopolies can state in the provisions that all the orders are made via tenders and the price is not the primary factor for winning.

However, all state companies will be obligated to officially publish information on such orders and carry them out transparently. They will be fined if they commit violations while granting access to such tenders or bids.