Google may be fined a whopping $5 billion by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), India if the ongoing antitrust investigation finds the search engine giant guilty of violating competition norms of the country.
Google was dragged into the antitrust investigation after an advocacy group on India CUTS International filed a complaint back in 2011. Matrimonial website Matrimony.com joined the bandwagon and it too filed a complaint. Both the companies have claimed that Google is abusing its dominant position in the search engine space on the Internet.
Google has already faced similar investigations in US and EU. While in US the company has already settled with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), its latest proposal is under considering by the European Commission and will most likely be accepted soon.
Mountain View has said on countless occasions that it is happy with the outcome in the US and is expecting a similar outcome in the EU. However, in case of India, there is no provision of settlement and companies, if found guilty, have to pay 10 percent of the average of their last three year’s annual turnover.
In case of Google it stands at over $49 billion, which means that the search engine may have to shell out $5 billion. Further, there is also a provision where CCI may call for correction in the way a company conducts its business to the extent that it can even demand a restructuring of business into separate units.
During its initial investigation, CCI found prima facie evidence and for a detailed probe the matter has been forwarded to Director General (DG) – its investigation unit. According to reports in local media, DG has collected evidence as well as comments from third-parties and is likely to submit its report soon.
When asked Google spokesperson said to members of the press “We are extending full co-operation to the Competition Commission of India in their investigation.”
