NCLAT refuses interim relief to Google on ₹936-crore CCI penalty

The NCLAT declined to grant Google an interim stay on the competition watchdog's $936.44 crore penalty for abusing its dominant position.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Rakesh Kumar and Alok Srivastava issued notices to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and other respondents and posted the matter for hearing on April 17, 2023.
A CCI order imposed a penalty of 1,337.76 crores on Google for anti-competitive practices regarding Android mobile devices, which was also declined by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) last week.
Google was fined over ₹2,200 crores in two CCI rulings less than a week apart in October, marking a setback for the tech titan in one of the most promising digital markets globally.
On October 25, CCI slapped a penalty of ₹936.44 crores on Google for abusing its dominant position concerning its Play Store policies.
The regulator has also directed the company to cease unfair business practices and carry out various measures to address the anti-competitive issues within a defined timeline.
In the wake of the recent ruling by the CCI, Google had subsequently said it was "pausing" enforcement of the requirement for developers to purchase digital goods and services using Play's billing system in India while it reviewed its legal options.
"Following the CCI's recent ruling, we are pausing enforcement of the requirement for developers to use Google Play's billing system for the purchase of digital goods and services for transactions by users in India while we review our legal options and ensure we can continue to invest in Android and Play," Google said in an update on help center page.
Software developers using its app store are required to use its proprietary in-app payment system, which charges a commission of up to 30 percent on purchases made on the app.
Google is also facing a separate probe into its business conduct in India's news content and Smart TV market.
The Competition Commission had also slapped a penalty of ₹1,337.76 crores on the tech major for anti-competitive practices concerning Android mobile devices.
Google had filed appeals before the NCLAT against the two orders of CCI in October.
On January 4, while hearing the appeal in the Android matter, the appellate tribunal refused an interim stay on the competition regulator imposing a ₹1,337-crore penalty and asked the US tech giant to deposit 10 percent of the amount.
NCLAT admitted the search giant's challenge to the CCI slapping ₹1,337.76-crore fine for abusing the dominant position of its Android smartphone operating system in the country.