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Source: The post is based on the article “Antitrust cases against Google, how regulator decided fine” published in Indian Express on 27th October 2022
What is the News?
Competition Commission of India(CCI) has fined Google twice — for abusing its dominant position in the market with its Android mobile operating system(OS) and for anti-competitive policies in its in-app billing and payment processing.
Abuse of Dominant Position
The Competition Commission of India(CCI) is empowered under the Competition Act, 2002 to check whether companies, especially large tech companies are not eliminating healthy competition in the market and creating a monopoly.
Section 4 of the Competition Act prohibits abuse of the dominant position of an enterprise in the market.
“Dominant position” means a position of strength enjoyed by an enterprise in the “relevant market” in India, which enables it to operate independently of competitive forces prevailing in the relevant market; or affect its competitors or consumers or the relevant market in its favour.
How is the penalty decided by CCI?
Under Section 27 of the Competition Act, CCI has the power to impose such a penalty as it may deem fit which shall be not more than 10% of the average turnover for the last three preceding financial years upon each of such persons or enterprises which are parties to such agreements or abuse.
In 2014, the Supreme Court ruled that the penalty should be imposed not on the “total/ entire turnover of the offending company” but on “relevant turnover”.
