Google fined ₹936 crore in second antitrust penalty this month in India

Alphabet Inc's Google was on Tuesday fined $113.04 million or ₹936 crore as India concluded yet another antitrust probe this month. The probe found Google guilty of abusing its market position on Play Store to promote its payments app and in-app payment system. India has also directed the company to cease and desist from unfair business practice.

"The Commission hereby directs Google to cease and desist from indulging in anti-competitive practices," the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said in a statement on Tuesday. It said Google should not restrict app developers from using any third-party billing or payment processing services, either for in-app purchases or for purchasing apps.

This is the second antitrust penalty by on Google by India this month. A few days ago, Google was fined $162 million or ₹1,337.76 crore by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Thursday for anticompetitive practices related to Android.

Google was fined after a probe found the tech behemoth was abusing its commanding position in the local smartphone market. The California-based company's Android mobile operating system is by far the dominant player in India and is run on 95 percent of all the country's smartphones, according to research agency Counterpoint.

After examination, it was found that “Google has perpetuated its dominant position in the online search market resulting in denial of market access for competing search apps in contravention of Section 4(2)(c) of the Act. Google has leveraged its dominant position in Play Store to protect its dominant position in online general search in contravention of Section 4(2)(e) of the Act.”

The probe mentioned that Google “abused” its dominant position by tying up of Google Chrome App with Play Store, which was a violation of the provisions of Section 4(2)(e) of the Act.

“Google has abused its dominant position by tying up of YouTube App with Play Store and thereby violated provisions of Section 4(2)(e) of the Act,” it said.

Google's Android operating system powers 97% of India's 600 million smartphones, according to Counterpoint Research.

(With agency inputs)