MOSCOW, December 12 - RAPSI, Vladimir Yaduta. The Sofia Administrative Court continued on Monday to consider a lawsuit concerning the suspension of a Russian oil giant's refinery operations in Bulgaria, the court told the Rusian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com).

The court first heard the experts' opinion and then the parties took the floor for comments.

LUKOIL, as the claimant, requested the court to set new assignments for the experts.

Meanwhile, the Bulgarian customs office, as the defendant, showed the experts the discrepancies between the list of documents and the documents actually produced by the oil company.

The customs office suspended the oil storage license of the LUKOIL refinery in Burgas in July and its Rosenets oil terminal due to the absence of oil metering instruments, which are necessary to calculate payable excise tax.

Later, a court permitted the refinery to operate, but the customs office contested the decision, arguing that it failed to install a remote control system for oil flow to prevent tax evasion.

In early August, the Bulgarian Supreme Administrative Court upheld the ruling allowing the refinery to operate on the grounds that a suspension would lead to serious losses.

The next hearing has been scheduled for January 24.