The Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) October 2022 order penalizing Google for abusing its dominant position with regard to its Play Store policy was maintained by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Friday. However, it lowered the financial penalty that the CCI imposed on the IT giant from Rs 936.44 crore to Rs 216.69 crore, a 76% reduction.
The appellate tribunal ruled that the relevant turnover should be the only amount used to calculate penalties. The order stated that the commission took into account Google’s whole revenue from all of its business operations in India, not just GPay and the Google Play Store. Additionally, the NCLAT stated that although Google has already paid 10% of the penalty, the remaining balance must be paid within 30 days.
Experts said that the NCLAT’s decision to recalibrate the penalty on Google underscores the importance of a nuanced, effects-based analysis in competition law. “While reaffirming Google’s abuse of dominance, the ruling also reflects judicial restraint in assessing proportionality of penalties, ensuring enforcement remains fair yet effective. This sets a precedent that competition law must focus not only on form but on tangible market impact,” said Ketan Mukhija, senior partner at Burgeon Law.
