Google Denied Relief, NCLAT Asks It To Deposit 10% Of CCI Penalty
Google suffers a setback in its fight against India's antitrust regulator.
Google received a setback as the appellate tribunal refused an interim stay on the competition regulator's penalty against the search giant.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal directed Google to pay 10% of the Rs 1,337 crore fine imposed by the Competition Commission of India, according to lawyers involved in the matter.
On Oct. 20, the CCI had given Google three months to comply with its directions, including amending its agreements that were found to be anti-competitive. That period expires on Jan 20. It's likely the tech major will now approach the Supreme Court for relief.
The CCI had found Google guilty of abusing its dominant position in the Android mobile device ecosystem and the internet search industry.
The regulator fined the global IT giant Rs 1,377 crore and ordered it to stop engaging in anti-competitive practices. The CCI ruled that Google must give consumers the option to pick a different default search engine when they first set up their devices and that the company cannot prohibit the uninstallation of its pre-installed apps.
Google challenged the CCI order, claiming that the regulator's findings were "patently erroneous" and that the orders were issued without sufficient thought and were directly copied from rulings of foreign entities.