Bulgarian Commission for Protection of Competition hits Bulgargaz with record fine

The Bulgarian Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) imposed a record fine of more than BGN 23 mln on Bulgarian state-owned gas supplier Bulgargaz, the Bulgarian newswire Novinite reported July 30.

“The company was fined BGN 23,377,600 for abuse of its dominant position by imposing dishonest commercial practices,” the local media reported.

The fine is a result of complains of Bulgargaz customers from the Overgaz Group and Sofiagaz.

Bulgargaz clients stated that the contracts with the supplier require the Bulgargaz clients to consume even quantities of gas every day in order to avoid a penalty of 10 percent price increase.

The record penalty of more than BGN 23 mln imposed by CPC on Bulgargaz is just a 0.5 percent of the company’s annual turnover, while the maximum could have reach even 10 percent. CPC multiplied the percentage of the fine by 2.5, which stands for the period of 2.5 years in which Bulgargaz was imposing illegal requirements in its contracts with the clients.

The previous record of almost BGN 16 mln was imposed by CPC in 2012 on the official distributor of Hyundai cars in Bulgaria – Industrial Commerce, and on its daughter company, Hyundai Leasing.

Photo courtesy of Gmiliev.