27.07.2011
Atomstroyexport JSC filed a claim to the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris against the National Electricity Company of Bulgaria to recover 58 million euro.
This action is a procedural necessity since the matter is payments for already done work on which the parties signed acceptance certificates. Atomstroyexport JSC performed a certain amount of work in relation to construction of Belene nuclear power plant with credit resources raised by request of the Bulgarian party. Besides, due to a difficult financial situation of the Bulgarian customer and by its request there was provided a time credit and the related repayment schedule was agreed upon. Since the customer doesn’t follow the repayment schedule, the Russian company has to apply to court, because otherwise the Russian fiscal authorities may file claims against it for a failure to take measures to recover export proceeds and pay related taxes to the budget of the Russian Federation.
Consideration of this claim will become the first judicial procedure in relations between Atomstroyexport JSC and NEK EAD, however, subsequent recourses of the Russian company to the court are not excluded due to the failure of the Bulgarian party to fulfill its obligations specified in bilateral signed documents.
Atomstroyexport JSC emphasizes that by no means this practice should be considered as a measure to put pressure upon the customer in order to expedite decision making.
Atomstroyexport JSC respects the customer’s efforts to clarify for itself all nuances of such a complex project as construction of Belene nuclear power plant, especially with account of the necessity to verify the compliance of the design with all safety requirements and regulations adopted in EU after the accident at the nuclear plant in Japan.
