The article reviews legal problems in assessing penalties for breach of obligations under state contracts by the parties. The topic is of scientific and practical interest due to legislative contradictions and certain conflicts. The study analyzes the causes of these contradictions based on the Resolutions of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation explaining the legal nature of penalties. Based on the research findings, it is proposed to introduce legislative amendments to current legislation to minimize financial losses of parties to an agreement.