Google has withdrawn its appeal before the Supreme Court against a National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) decision, which declined to grant interim relief to the tech giant on its plea seeking a stay on the Competition Commision of India’s (CCI) INR 936.44 crore penalty on the company.
The CCI imposed the fine in October last year in an antitrust probe for Google’s abuse of its dominant position with respect to its Play Store policies. The fine was imposed for Google’s in-app payments policy on the app marketplace, Play Store. Following the CCI order, Google also said it would start allowing all Android app developers to opt for a third-party billing system for Google Play Store purchases in India starting April 26, and developers who opt to use an alternate payment method or third-party payment services, for subscriptions and paid apps, will get a 4% discount commission under the new directive.
Google had appealed against the NCLAT decision, which was scheduled to be heard by the apex court on April 17. However, the company has now withdrawn the appeal, according to BusinessLine. Of its INR 936 crore penalty, Google has already deposited 10% to NCLAT. The matter had been listed for final hearing before NCLAT on April 17.
Following the withdrawal of the appeal, policy think tank Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) requested CCI to look into the ‘abusive dominance practices’ of Google on an urgent basis. The group added that the 11-26% service fee for in-app purchases will be a death knell for the Indian startup ecosystem. The ongoing tussle between Google and CCI continues as the authorities try to prevent dominant market players from using their position to impede competition.
