Google has approached the Supreme Court challenging the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s (NCLAT) March 2025 decision that partially upheld the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) antitrust findings related to the company’s Play Store billing practices.
“We have filed an appeal against NCLAT’s recent decision concerning the CCI’s order. We remain committed to supporting the growth of the Indian app ecosystem for both developers and users,” a Google spokesperson said, as per media reports.
The case began in November 2020 when the CCI launched a probe into Google’s Play Store policies following complaints from app developers. The issue centered around Google’s mandatory billing system for paid apps and in-app purchases, which required developers to use Google’s payment gateway and pay a commission of 15–30%.
In October 2022, the CCI found Google guilty of abusing its dominant position in the Android ecosystem. It imposed a penalty of ₹936.44 crore and directed the company to make several changes, including allowing alternate billing systems and ending discriminatory practices.
In its March 2025 ruling, the NCLAT upheld key parts of the CCI’s findings. It concluded that Google had imposed unfair and discriminatory conditions on developers by mandating the use of the Google Play Billing System (GPBS). The tribunal also agreed with the CCI’s view that Google leveraged its dominance in the Android and Play Store ecosystems to promote its own payments app, Google Pay, over rival UPI-based digital payment apps.
The tribunal further upheld CCI’s directions requiring Google to allow developers to use third-party billing or payment processing services. Google was also directed not to restrict developers from communicating with users or directing them outside the Play Store to promote their apps. Additionally, it was asked not to discriminate against other UPI apps in favour of its own or limit users from accessing features within third-party apps.
However, the NCLAT revised the financial penalty. It noted that the CCI had wrongly applied the fine to Google’s global revenue and recalibrated it based on Play Store-specific revenues in India, reducing the fine to ₹216.69 crore.
Google’s appeal against the NCLAT ruling and the original CCI order has been filed in the Supreme Court and is expected to be listed for hearing soon.
