While admitting the plea of startups against Google’s Play Store billing policy, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Friday asked both Google and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to respond on the issue.
The appellate tribunal asked Google and the CCI to file their reply within a week. The case is now posted for final hearing on May 24.
NCLAT was hearing the appeals filed by Kuku FM, the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF) and People Group, which owns Shaadi.com. NCLAT, however, did not grant the startups interim protection from Google’s in-app billing.
This comes after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in March rejected the interim relief applications of startups seeking restriction on Google from levying any service fees on app developers until the CCI completes its investigation in Google’s billing policy and a final decision is made.
The dispute between Google and startups relates to non-payment of commission fee of 11-26% by the apps regarding transactions their users do within the app, which is also called in-app purchases. This was after CCI ordered it to scrap the earlier system of charging 15-30%. Several homegrown startups have challenged the Play Store billing policy but have not got a stay order.
On March 15, the CCI ordered a probe into Google’s Play Store billing policy and asked the director general to complete the investigation in 60 days.
“The matter is sub judice, so I wouldn’t like to say much except that we are happy with the progress,” said Anupam Mittal, founder & CEO of People Group.
“The courts and authorities appear to recognise that Google & other Big Tech gatekeepers will not be allowed to collect tolls from India’s entrepreneurs by abusing their monopolistic power. The future of our economy is at stake,” Mittal added.
On March 1, Google removed some of the popular homegrown apps from its Play Store over a dispute on service fee payments. The list included matrimony platforms like Shaadi, Matrimony.com, Bharat Matrimony, Balaji Telefilms’ Altt (formerly ALTBalaji), audio platform Kuku FM, dating service Quack Quack, Truly Madly, Naukri, 99acres, among others.
After the government intervention, Google later reinstated all the apps it had removed. The tech major had said that the reinstatement was temporary and it would continue to bill the developers whose apps are listed in Play Store.
Meanwhile, NCLAT has also started hearing Google’s appeal against a `936-crore fine imposed by the CCI in October 2022 for abusing its dominant position in the app-store market.
Google’s stand has been that only 3% of developers in India sell digital goods or services and therefore need to pay a service fee, the vast majority of whom pay 15% or less – the lowest of any major global app store. It has said that in India, less than 60 developers on Google Play are subject to fees above 15%.