Google said on November 1 it has paused enforcement of its in-app billing system in India following a recent ruling of the Competition Commission of India (CCI). App developers were previously expected to comply with the Play billing policy by 31 October 2022.
On October 25, CCI directed the tech giant not to restrict app developers from using any third-party billing or payment processing services to purchase apps or for in-app billing on Google Play apart from a series of measures to modify the company's app payment policies that requires compliance within three months.
It also fined Google Rs 936.44 crore for abusing its dominant position with regard to its Play Store policies. The internet giant said it is evaluating the next steps, while noting that the model has "powered India's digital transformation" and expanded access for "hundreds of millions of Indians"
This is the competition watchdog's second such order against Google in as many weeks. On October 20, it imposed a penalty of Rs 1,337.76 crore on the Android maker for abusing its dominant position in multiple markets in the Android Mobile device ecosystem besides directing Google to modify its conduct with corrective measures.
"Following the CCI's recent ruling, we are pausing enforcement of the requirement for developers to use Google Play's billing system for the purchase of digital goods and services for transactions by users in India while we review our legal options and ensure we can continue to invest in Android and Play" the company said in a support page.
The policy has already been made mandatory for in-app digital content purchases for users outside of India.
The Google Play policy saga
Similar to rival Apple, Google requires developers using its Play Store for apps selling digital goods and services to use its own billing system and pay 15-30 percent of the sales generated as a service fee.
While Apple has always strictly enforced the guideline, Google announced in October 2020 that it will begin enforcing a mandatory integration of its Play billing system.
The move faced an intense backlash from Indian developers, as a result the tech giant delayed the implementation globally to March 31, 2022 in the country. In December 2021, Google extended the deadline by another seven months to October 31, 2022 only in the India market, citing the unique circumstances with the payments landscape in the country.
It had said this additional period would help developers with necessary product support for recurring payments through UPI, wallets and other systems in the backdrop of RBI's guidelines for recurring payments that had a deadline of September 30, 2021.
Read: Google Play spots key monetization opportunity in India as spends on local apps rise 80% in two years
Over the past year or so, Google has made several changes to its app policies as it faces increased scrutiny across the world.
In March 2021, Google reduced the service fee to 15 percent for the first $1 million revenue developers earned using the Play billing system every year. The reduced fee came into effect in July 2021.
In October 2021, Google lowered its fees for all subscription-based services to 15 percent from 30 percent from January 1, 2022.
Google also launched a pilot programme in March 2022, allowing participating non-gaming developers to offer an additional third-party billing system to users in addition to Google Play for a reduced service fee ranging from 6-11 percent.
The pilot was extended to India and four other markets such as Australia, Indonesia, Japan, and the European Economic Area in September 2022.
Checkout Budget Highlights 2023
