Brussels, Sep 25 (IANS): A Belgian court has ordered Uber to close its ride-sharing service UberPop in Brussels within 21 days or face heavy fines, the company said.

Uber said in a statement on Thursday that the ruling did not affect its UberX service, that uses professionally licensed drivers, reported Xinhua.

Only UberPop, where individuals can charge for rides in their personal vehicle, is affected.

The city's commercial court upheld an earlier ruling that UberPop is illegal in the Belgian capital, local newspaper group Sudpresse reported.

If UberPop does not close, the firm could be fined 10,000 euros (about $11,250) each time a driver is caught by police, up to a maximum of 1 million euros ($1.125 million U.S. dollars).

Uber spokesman Filip Nuytemans said in a news release: "We are looking at the implications of this ruling which hurts hundreds of our driver-partners and tens of thousands of people who have come to rely on UberPop to get around Brussels safely and affordably."