Uber files a petition to overturn a law that limits service fees to 18%.

Uber Kenya has petitioned Kenya’s Supreme Court to overturn new digital taxi-hailing regulations that limit commission fees to 18%, down from 25%.

According to Uber, the cap would reduce the company’s earnings and prevent it from investing further in Kenya.

The rule is expected to go into effect in the coming weeks. The regulations have been in the works since 2016, when drivers first protested Uber’s 35% commenter price reduction, which drew lawmakers’ attention.

According to the filing, which was obtained by TechCrunch, “the introduction of 18% as the ceiling for the allowable commission has the potential to stifle innovation and reduce the petitioner’s economic feasibility of investing in the market,” according to the court documents filed by Coulson Harney LLP.

The Kenya Revenue Authority is currently finalizing digital service tax and VAT regulations that would impose additional taxes of 1.5% and 14% on the petitioner’s (Uber) service fees, respectively. This, combined with the commission’s proposed cap, will have a significant impact on the petitioner’s revenue from the Kenyan market, negatively impacting investment prioritization in the Kenyan market.

Uber claims that Kenya is a free market in which ride-hailing companies have the right to negotiate commercial agreements without the need for outside intervention. Uber also claims that the regulations were gazetted without due process or public participation.

According to Techcrunch, Uber also criticized the requirement that all ride-hailing companies obtain a transport network license from NTSA in order to operate, arguing that the company is not providing transportation but rather an intermediary service.

Uber believes the regulations are discriminatory because they only allow Kenyan personal identification numbers to obtain the mandatory license. As a result, only entities legally registered in Kenya with physical offices in the country are eligible for the permits.

Furthermore, ride-hailing companies are required to share drivers’ and riders’ data upon authority request, which Uber believes violates the Data Protection Act.

Lorraine Onduru, Uber East and West Africa’s head of communication stated in response to the new regulations, “we remain committed to Kenya and ensuring that more drivers and riders can experience the benefits of ride-hailing.”

Some aspects of these regulations, she added, “are not conducive to doing business in Kenya and are not good for drivers or riders because they deter foreign investment into the country and limit the role private businesses can play in supporting and growing the Kenyan mobility sector.”

Although Uber has promised to remain in the midst of the regulatory wrangling, the company recently exited the Tanzanian market after the country imposed a 15% commission cap, and things may get even tougher in Kenya.