NCLAT reduces penalty on Google to Rs 216 crore in Play Store case

Appellate tribunal NCLAT on Friday upheld the order passed by fair trade regulator CCI against Google for abusing its dominant position with respect to Play Store policies, however, reduced the penalty on the tech giant to Rs 216 crore from Rs 936.44 crore.

A two-member bench comprising Chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan and Technical Member Barun Mitra said Google "has abused its dominant position and has violated Section", however in some sections, violation was "not proved, but penalty was still leviable on proof of violation".

"The penalty imposed on the Google is modified as per computation contained in paragraph 105 of this order. Thus, the penalty imposed on the Google for relevant turnover of last three preceding year of Rs 936.44 crores, is modified to the amount of Rs 216.69 crore (USD 2,98,89,312.39)," said the NCLAT order.

As Google has already "deposited 10 per cent of the penalty in the present Appeal, rest of the amount of penalty shall be deposited by the Appellant within 30 days from today", said NCLAT.

Earlier on October 25, 2022, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) had slapped a penalty of Rs 936.44 crore on Google for abusing its dominant position with respect to its Play Store policies.

This was challenged by Alphaet Inc and Google before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which is an appellate jurisdiction over the orders passed by CCI.

In its order, CCI had also directed the tech giant to cease and desist from unfair business practices as well as carry out various measures to address the anti-competitive issues within a defined timeline.