The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Friday partly upheld the order of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against tech giant Google for abusing its dominant position in relation to its Play Store policies..A coram of Chairperson Justice (retd) Ashok Bhushan and Technical Member Barun Mitra, however, cut down the penalty of ₹936.44 crore to ₹216 crore.A copy of the detailed order is awaited. .In October 2022, CCI fined Google ₹936.44 crore for abusing its dominant position concerning its Play Store policies. Alongside the fine, the Commission issued a cease-and-desist order against the tech giant.The CCI directed Google to refrain from restricting app developers from using third-party billing or payment processing services for purchasing apps or in-app transactions on Google Play. Additionally, it mandated that Google implement a series of modifications to its app payment policies within three months.The investigation dates back to November 2020, when the CCI launched an inquiry into Google's mandatory use of its Play Store payment system for paid apps and in-app purchases. At the time, the Commission noted that such a policy appeared unfair as it prevented app developers from choosing their preferred payment processing system.Following its assessment, the CCI ruled that enforcing the use of Google Play Billing for paid apps and in-app purchases constituted an unfair imposition on developers, violating competition laws. The CCI also found that Google did not apply its billing system to its own apps, such as YouTube, which amounted to "discriminatory conditions and pricing" since its apps were exempt from the commission fees imposed on others..The CCI stated that enforcing this billing system hinders innovation, restricting both payment processors and app developers from pursuing technical advancements. This, in turn, limits the development of in-app payment processing services, ultimately denying market access to payment aggregators and developers—another violation of competition regulations.In its order, the CCI instructed Google not to discriminate against or penalize apps that use third-party billing services. It also emphasised that Google must maintain complete transparency regarding the services it provides and the fees it charges developers. The company was prohibited from imposing "unfair, unreasonable, discriminatory, or disproportionate" conditions on app developers, including those related to pricing.Furthermore, the CCI ruled that Google must not restrict app developers from engaging with their users or directing them outside the Google Play ecosystem to promote their apps (anti-steering). It also required Google to establish clear policies regarding the collection, usage and sharing of consumer data obtained through its platform. Google was prohibited from using data generated through its Play Billing service to gain a competitive advantage. App developers must also be granted access to data related to their respective apps, with appropriate safeguards in place..The matter reached NCLAT in January 2023. However, the appellate tribunal refused to grant interim relief to Google..Several Indian startups have accused Google of attempting to bypass the CCI's order instead of fully complying with it. They claim that Google is enforcing a so-called "alternative billing system" or "user choice billing" alongside its existing billing system, presenting it as a new policy.Under this policy, if users opt to pay through their preferred billing system, the transaction still incurs a service fee, albeit at a 4 per cent discount. As a result, developers are required to pay Google a service fee ranging from 6 to 26 percent for in-app purchases and subscriptions, depending on the app, the service, and its annual revenue on Google Play. This remains only a slight reduction from the standard 10 to 30 percent fee.Proceedings in this regard are currently ongoing in CCI and NCLAT. .Google was represented by Senior Advocates Sajan Poovayya and Ritin Rai, with Karan Chanhiok, Ms. Deeksha Manchanda, Tarun Donadi, . Bhavika Chhabra, Palash Maheshwari, Daayar Singla and Raksha Agarwal from Chandhiok and Mahajan.Advocates Avaantika Kakkar and Kaustav Kundu from Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas also represented the tech giant. .CCI was represented by Senior Advocate Balbir Singh with Advocates Samar Bansal, Manu Chaturvedi, Monica Benjamin, Kaustubh Chaturvedi, Vedant Kapur, Karan Sachdev, Shivali Singh, Ananya Singh, Vedant Kohli and Khwaja Umair..Alliance Digital India Foundation (ADIF) was represented by Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta with Advocates Abir Roy, Vivek Pandey, Aman Shankar, S Panda, Biyanka Bhatia, Shreya Kapoor and Rajat Sharma from SARVADA Legal.
