June 3 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) said on Monday it has imposed a 3,520 levs ($2,016/ 1,799 euro) fine on local ride-share company Taxi Maxim over unfair competition practices.
Taxi Maxim is in breach of loyal commercial practices, because it enjoys an unfair economic advantage to registered taxi transportation services that meet the necessary requirements, the CPC said in a statement.
The company is managing two ride-sharing apps, Maxim and Taxsee Driver, since February 2015.
Its operations, which are similar to licensed taxi transportation services, violate the country's legislation on taxi services for transportation of passengers, the competition authority said.
The fine is equal to 8% of the company's net sales revenue in 2018.
In March, the vehicles of Taxi Maxim drivers who have committed administrative violations have been banned from use by the Bulgarian prosecutor's office for six months.
Taxi Maxim is a wholly-owned unit of Dominican Republic-registered High Technology Management Corporation.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)