Madras High Court restrains Google from delisting Bharat Matrimony from Play Store

Bharat Matrimony Vs Google

The Madras High Court on April 25 restrained Google from delisting matchmaking app Bharat Matrimony and its affiliate from its Android Play Store even if it fails to agree to the tech giant's new payment policy, as controversy continues to brew over the US-based company's proposed fee structure.

The court has granted a stay till June 1, 2023 by which time the tech giant will have to file a response to Bharat Matrimony's allegation that Google is compelling it to comply with its uneconomic billing policy by misusing its dominant position in the Play Store ecosystem.

Matrimony dot com, which is the owner of the brand Bharat Matrimony, moved the high court, saying Google was forcing app developers to agree to its payment policy of charging a service fee at the rate of 11 percent and 26 percent even with respect to the payments made by customers through its new users choice billing system.

Bharat Matrimony argued that it would be delisted from Google Play Store, which would cause it an irreparable loss, if it fails to agree to Google's new payment policy, which is to come into force on April 26.

In October 2022, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed a penalty of Rs 936.44 crore on Google for abusing its dominant position in the Playstore ecosystem by imposing its billing policy.

It directed Google not to restrict app developers from using third-party billing or payment processing services, either for in-app purchases or for purchasing an app.  Google was also directed not to discriminate apps using third-party billing services.

Several Indian startups have alleged that instead of complying with CCI's order, Google is trying to circumvent it by asking apps to use “alternative billing system/user choice billing” along with its existing billing system, terming it as its new policy.

Under the new policy, if users pay through their choice of billing system, the transaction is still subjected to a service fee, but at a 4 percent discount, they have said.

This effectively means that developers will have to pay a service fee to Google ranging from 6-26 percent for in-app purchases and subscriptions, depending on the app or the service and the annual revenue it generates on Google Play, as compared to the regular 10-30 percent service fee.

Google's alternative billing system is to come into force on April 26, however, a bunch of Indian startups moved the CCI alleging that the users' choice billing system violates its earlier order.

The Delhi High Court on April 24, directed the CCI to consider the pleas by Indian startups on or before April 26. CCI summoned Google and the Indian startups on April 25 for a hearing, the outcome of which is not known as yet.