Google receives a Rs 936 crore fine from the Competition Commission, its second antitrust fine this month.

As India completed yet another antitrust investigation this month, it fined Alphabet Inc.'s Google 9.36 billion Indian rupees ($113.04 million), finding the American tech giant guilty of abusing its market position to promote its payments app and in-app payment system.

The sale of in-app digital products is a significant way for developers to monetise their work, according to the Competition Commission of India (CCI), which said Google pushed app developers to utilise its in-app payment system.

The decision by CCI is the latest blow for Google in one of its target markets, where it was previously penalised $162 million on Thursday for Android-related anticompetitive behaviour by the former. A separate investigation into Google's business practises in the Indian smart TV sector is also ongoing.

A request for comment regarding the most recent order received no immediate response from Google. It had referred to the CCI's decision from Thursday as "a big setback for Indian consumers and businesses," adding that it would analyse the ruling and determine the appropriate course of action.

In a statement on Tuesday, CCI stated that "the Commission thus requires Google to halt and desist from engaging in anti-competitive acts."

According to this, Google shouldn't impose any limitations on app developers' use of any third-party billing or payment processing services, whether for app purchases or in-app purchases.

Google has come under fire from critics all over the world for requiring software developers using its app store to utilise a proprietary in-app payment system that levies commissions of up to 30% on in-app sales.

The business has recently started allowing other payment methods in more nations.

According to Counterpoint Research, 97% of the 600 million cellphones in India run on the Android operating system.

(source : Reuters)