Setback for Google as NCLAT upholds Rs 1,300 cr CCI fine
The tech giant has been asked to furnish 10% of the fine within a week
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has upheld the Rs 1,337.76 crore fine imposed on Google by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for unfair trade practices.
Google has been given a week’s time to comply with the order and furnish 10% of the fine that CCI has imposed.
The tribunal also noted that CCI’s investigation into Google’s conduct in the market did not violate the principles of natural justice.
In a first ever case, the competition watchdog on October 20, 2022 had slapped a penalty of Rs 1,337 crore and then on October 25 another penalty of Rs 936 crore on the tech major for abusing its dominant position with respect to its Android mobile system and Play Store policies respectively.
The penalties are roughly 9 per cent of the company’s ad revenue in India. The regulator had also directed Google to modify its conduct within a defined timeline. The Indian regulator’s stern action against one of the most powerful companies sparked a fresh debate over the tech giant's monopoly and its repercussions.
However, the tech giant has also been relieved of the four key directions issued by the CCI. Here’s an upshot of the directions in para 617.3, 617.9, 617.10, and 617.7 of the CCI order.
Paragraph 617.3 -- Google shall not deny access to its play services Application Programming Interface (APIs) to disdvantage Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), app developers and its existing or potential competitors.
Paragraph 617.7 -- Google shall not restrict uninstalling of its pre-installed apps by the users.
Paragraph 617.9 -- Google shall allow the developers of app stores to distribute their app stores through Google Play Store.
Paragraph 617.10 -- Google shall not restrict the ability of app developers in any manner to distribute their apps through side-loading.
The tech giant can now challenge the order in the Supreme Court.
