Bulgarian regulator fines Microsoft Bulgaria for unfair competition

Microsoft Bulgaria, a Bulgarian subsidiary of IT giant Microsoft, has been fined BGN 187,000 by Bulgaria’s Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC), following a complaint filed by Bulgarian software distribution company BMG, the newswire Novinite reported July 1.

BMG filed a competition complaint against Microsoft regarding a suspended agreement between the two.

According to CPC, Microsoft Bulgaria published a misleading statement, which “created a mistaken impression that the plaintiff [BMG] might no longer be able to carry out services related to the offering of Microsoft products,” the newswire reported. As a result of the Microsoft’s statement, BMG lost many of its customers, who suspended their contracts with the company.

Microsoft confirmed that it did suspend its contract with BMG, but CPC has established that the company’s statement mislead not only BMG’s customers but also BMG itself to believe that it could no longer offer Microsoft Volume Licensing programs.

“This misleading statement caused harm to competition on the market,” CPC stated in its press release on its website.

The fine of BGN 187,000 imposed by CPC on Microsoft Bulgaria equals to two percent of the net income from sales of the company for the 2012 financial year.