Play Store rules hurting developers, CCI tells NCLAT

Google's levy of 10-30% service fee on payments for app purchases via its Play Store has proved to be a challenge, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said. This has highlighted that this service fee has crimped app developers' ability to improve service quality and also produce better technology.

The competition watchdog commented this on the concluding day of its arguments at the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). The parent company of Google (Alphabet inc.) had earlier appealed against the order of CCI.

Back in 2024, The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) resumed its final hearing on Google’s appeal against the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) ₹936 crore penalty on September 10. The tech giant was penalised in October 2022 for allegedly abusing its dominant position through restrictive billing practices on Google Play Store.