The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Wednesday rejected tech behemoth Google's request for an interim stay on an antitrust ruling that ordered the company to change its approach to its massively popular Android platform. The NCLAT has further directed Google to deposit 10 per cent of Rs 1,337.76 crore penalty, the media has reported.
Meanwhile, the tech giant had challenged the CCI ruling in the Android case before the NCLAT and sought an immediate stay on the ruling. In the appeal, Google had challenged the findings as “patently erroneous” and ignoring “the reality of competition in India, Google’s procompetitive business model, and the benefits created for all stakeholders”.
According to reports, the next hearing on the matter of staying the fine on Google will take place on February 13. The final hearing will be on April 3.
To recall, Google was slapped with a penalty of Rs 936.44 crores by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) over anti-competitive practices in October. Google offered a response to the newest fine, saying that it is reviewing the decision of the fair trade regulator and that it remains “committed” to its users and developers. The big-tech firm has been accused of abusing its dominant position in the market with respect to its Google Play store policies.
The penalty follows another fine of Rs 1,337.76 crores on the tech giant for a similar reason, which was announced by the fair trade regulator on October 20.
As per a CCI press release, a cease-and-desist order has also been imposed on Google. During its assessment, the CCI found that Google was "dominant in the markets for licensable OS for smart mobile devices and market for app stores for Android smart mobile OS, in India."
CCI noted that under Google’s Play store policies, app developers need to “exclusively and mandatorily” use the Google Play Billing System not just for receiving payments for apps distributed or sold through the Play store, but also for in-app purchases made by users. There’s no clause for developers to add a direct link for payments.