Securing the contract: the courts reminded when its size can be reduced under Federal Law No. 44
The contractor has completed part of the construction work. They were accepted according to the acts of the COP-2 and the COP certificate-3. Later, the customer was offered to reduce the amount of collateral — to provide a new guarantee for a smaller amount. According to the law, this can be done if information about the fulfillment of obligations has been sent to the register of contracts.
The customer refused. Three instances agreed with him:
you can reduce the provision if the customer has accepted a number of works. In this case, the contract must allow acceptance in parts or contain stages. The parties did not agree on any of these provisions;
under the terms of the transaction, the signing of acts of COP-2 and COP-3 certificates is an interim acceptance. The contractor reflected in them only the overall result for a period of time, and did not hand over a separate stage or type of work.
The conclusions are based, among other things, on a Review of the practice of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. The Arbitration Court of the Moscow District has taken a similar position before. The Supreme Court supported her.
Document: Resolution of the Arbitration Court of the Moscow District of 04/18/2023 in case N A40-106162/2022