The Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) has decided to check the Russian taxi-service Maxim for unfair competition on the Bulgarian market. The case study was formed on Wednesday and no temporary measures against the activity of Russian Uber in Bulgaria have been imposed.
The uncontrolled service for connecting a smartphone-driven application with drivers who are ready to ship to the specified destination customers has been working in Bulgaria since 2014.
Maxim claims that it is not a carrier to be subject to registration and regulations but provides services
The Bulgarian branch of Maxim is ruled by a Russian, and the owner is a company in the Dominican Republic. "The company's history began in the small Russian town of Shadrinsk, by a small taxi service, founded by young engineers from Kurgan, specialists in automation of technological processes," says the service site launched in 2003.
Since 2014, the company has begun to work outside of Russia by opening taxi terminals in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Bulgaria, Tajikistan, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Italy.
In fact, Maxim Taxi provides the same service as the banned "Uber" in the country after outcry from Bulgarian taxi companies in 2015. The Commission for the Protection of Competition imposed a serious fine and ordered the Bulgarian branch of "Uber" to cease its activity. The reason was unfair competition on the part of the company that does not have a passenger license.
The EU Court subsequently ruled that "Uber" is a transport service, which means that if it wants to continue its activity, it must be regulated as taxi companies that have to meet certain requirements and register. |