Armed Forces of the Russian Federation: the object under the state contract was built qualitatively, but they retreated from the project — the work needs to be paid
The parties have signed a construction contract. The customer did not accept the work because the result did not meet the project documentation. He received a payment under the guarantee.
According to the contractor, the work was done qualitatively, and the project was abandoned for objective reasons. He went to court to recover, among other things, a debt, a penalty, unjustified enrichment (payment under a guarantee).
Three instances supported him:
the contractor retreated from the project, technical specifications and estimates, but this did not worsen the result. The object can be used for its intended purpose, it is of high quality and meets the standards. The customer has not proved the opposite;
to put an object into operation, you can change the project documentation for what has already been built. A complete re-examination of the state is not necessary;
the customer knew that it was necessary to change the project documentation, issued the technical task to the contractor. At the same time, he prevented receiving a positive decision of the state expert examination, since he did not transfer the necessary initial data to the contractor;
the deviation from the project did not increase the cost of the work;
the guarantee is needed to cover specific customer losses or a penalty. However, he did not prove that he received a payment for this.
The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation did not review the case.
Document:Definition of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation of 17.06.2022 N 302-ES22-9204