The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a car dealer's lawsuit against the government over a tariff increase of up to 60 percent on used cars.

Viktor Meshcherinov, director of Penza company Optim-Avto, asked the court to repeal the tariff hike for used cars, citing a violation of federal legislation protecting fair competition.

Optim-Avto will appeal the decision, said Sergei Kanayev, head of the Federation of Auto Owners, who represented Meshcherinov in court.

The federation also organized a rally near the Regional Development Ministry to support the lawsuit. At noon, the rally area, barricaded tightly by metal bars and policemen, was nearly deserted, with only the three organizers and one other man holding up a sign protesting the tariffs next to a stack of used car tires with a funeral wreath on top. "Put deputies in a Kalina and the prime minister on a hand car," said one sign.

The decree, signed into law in early January as a measure to help the domestic auto industry, has spurred protests across the country, especially in the Far East where many people subsist on importing and selling used Japanese cars.

Used car imports in the first quarter of 2009 fell 95 percent year on year, Avtostat automotive agency said Thursday. Only 4,929 used cars were brought to Russia from abroad this year during the period, down from 120,300 cars in the same period the year earlier.