Google Challenges NCLAT Order on Play Store Billing Practices in Supreme Court

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Google has escalated its legal battle against India’s Competition Commission of India (CCI) by moving the Supreme Court to challenge the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s (NCLAT) March 2025 ruling that upheld key findings of anticompetitive behavior related to the Play Store billing system. This dispute has its roots in a CCI investigation initiated in November 2020 into Google’s mandatory use of its proprietary Google Play Billing System (GPBS) for app and in-app purchases.

Key Developments in the Case

• The CCI originally fined Google ₹936.44 crore in October 2022, finding that Google abused its dominant position by imposing unfair policies, including requiring app developers to use GPBS exclusively while exempting some own apps like YouTube from similar commission fees.

• The NCLAT partially upheld the CCI’s order on March 28, 2025, affirming the abuse of dominance and unfair billing requirements but reduced the penalty from ₹936 crore to ₹216.69 crore, applying it only to Play Store-specific revenues.

• The tribunal also supported certain CCI directives mandating Google to allow third-party billing, remove anti-steering provisions, and not discriminate against other Unified Payments Interface (UPI) apps versus Google’s own UPI app.

• However, NCLAT overturned more stringent measures such as requiring third-party app stores inclusion and allowing pre-installed app removal, judging such preventive actions exceed current competition law powers.

• On May 1, 2025, NCLAT reinstated two key data-related orders requiring Google to disclose its data policies and restrict advantaging its billing data, rejecting Google’s challenge to this reinstatement.

• Google filed its Supreme Court appeal on July 21, 2025, contesting both the substance of the NCLAT ruling and the May corrections. The case will be heard soon, carrying significant implications for digital platform regulation and competition in India.

Strategic Significance

This legal battle highlights the evolving regulatory environment for dominant tech platforms in India, balancing innovation and market fairness.

The Supreme Court’s decision will influence future conduct standards for app stores and payment systems, impacting developers, consumers, and the broader digital ecosystem.

Sources: Business Standard, Economic Times, Moneycontrol