Bulgaria’s competition watchdog fines bus company 565 100 leva
Bulgaria’s Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) said on July 30 that it has fined Etap-Adress a total of 565 100 leva for two separate violations of fair competition rules.
Although it is best known as one of one Bulgaria’s bigger passenger bus operators, Etap-Adress is registered as offering a variety of other services, including meal vouchers – an employee benefit that become in Bulgaria over the past decade because of tax incentives for employers.
CPC said that Etap-Adress bid in several public procurement tenders, offering extremely low prices, below cost.
The regulator said that one fine, worth 109 500 leva, was for the company’s failure to carry out an earlier CPC decision, dating back to 2012, ordering it to stop offering such services below cost. The second fine of 455 600 leva, or five per cent of the company’s revenues for 2014, for misleading its contractors.
CPC also ordered Etap-Adress to pay the court expenses, worth 4900 leva, incurred by one of its rivals that made the complaint to the regulator.
(Photo: Clive Leviev-Sawyer)
