Google welcomes NCLAT order that upholds upholds CCI’s Play Store order and reduces penalty to Rs 216 crore

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) upheld an order by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against Google. In its order, the regulator CCI stated that abused its dominant position regarding Play Store policies. However, NCLAT has reduced the penalty imposed on Google from Rs 936.44 crore to Rs 216 crore. A two-member bench of the NCLAT, comprising Chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan and Technical Member Barun Mitra, stated that Google "has abused its dominant position and has violated Section.” The bench also said that in some sections, violation was “not proved, but penalty was still leviable on proof of violation.”
"We welcome the NCLAT's decision to set aside certain directions in the CCI's order and substantially lower the penalty. Google is committed to supporting the growth of Indian developers and contributing to a thriving app ecosystem for both developers and users in India. We will continue to comply with all applicable laws and regulations as we review the NCLAT’s judgment and evaluate our legal options."

In the order (seen by the news agency PTI), NCLAT said: “The penalty imposed on Google is modified as per computation contained in paragraph 105 of this order. Thus, the penalty imposed on Google for relevant turnover of the last three preceding years of Rs 936.44 crores is modified to the amount of Rs 216.69 crore ($ 2.98 million).”
NCLAT added that as Google has already "deposited 10% of the penalty in the present Appeal, the rest of the amount of penalty shall be deposited by the Appellant within 30 days from today."

In 2022, CCI imposed a penalty of Rs 936.44 crore on Google for misusing its dominant position concerning Play Store policies.
Parent company Alphabet and Google challenged this decision before the NCLAT, which has appellate jurisdiction over CCI's orders.
Along with the fine, CCI also directed the tech giant to halt unfair business practices and implement corrective measures to resolve anti-competitive concerns within a specified timeframe.