The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has delivered a fresh verdict in the antitrust dispute between Google and the Competition Commission of India (CCI), correcting an inadvertent error in its March 28 judgement.
The Appellate Tribunal clarified on May 1 that directions 395.4 and 395.5, which required Google to maintain transparency in data collection and avoid leveraging consumer data, were upheld, not set aside.
The application for clarification was filed by CCI, contending that while the body of the verdict upheld these directions, the final directions set them aside.
The original operative portion of the March ruling (para 107(iii)) had erroneously stated that directions in 395.4 and 395.5 were set aside, despite the main judgment (para 93) explicitly sustaining them.
As per direction 395.4, Google was required to set out a clear and transparent policy on data collected on its platform, use of such data by the platform and also the potential and actual sharing of such data with app developers or other entities, including related entities.
Under direction 395.5, the tribunal held that the competitively relevant transaction/consumer data of apps generated and acquired through GPBS shall not be leveraged by Google to further its competitive advantage. Google shall also provide access to the app developer of the data that has been generated through the concerned app, subject to adequate safeguards, as highlighted in this order, it noted.
The May 1 order has amended paragraph 107(iii), stating that directions issued in paragraph 395.4 and 395.5 were sustained and directions contained in 395.6 and 395.7 were set aside.
Appearing for Google, Senior Advocate Sajan Poovayya argued that CCI’s application amounted to a review. However, the NCLAT held that this was a permissible correction and not a review of the judgment.
The CCI initiated its investigation in November 2020, following complaints that Google forced app developers to use its proprietary billing system. In October 2022, CCI concluded that these practices were discriminatory and fined Google Rs 936.44 crore, issuing remedial directives.
Google appealed to the NCLAT in January 2023, and the March 2025 judgment largely affirmed the CCI’s findings on abuse of dominance, but trimmed back preventive remedies and recalibrated the penalty.
The NCLAT’ held as anti-competitive, mandatory use of Google Play Billing System (GPBS) under Section 4(2)(a)(i).
Under Section 4(2)(e), Google was found to have leveraged its dominance in the app store and OS markets to promote Google Pay
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