Case involving Google billing policy: NCLAT requests comment on Kuku FM, Shaadi, and IBDF's appeal against the CCI ruling

Case involving Google billing policy: NCLAT requests comment on Kuku FM, Shaadi, and IBDF's appeal against the CCI ruling

The app developers have not been able to provide evidence supporting the granting of temporary relief that would totally prevent Google from collecting its fees, according to a March 20 ruling from the CCI.

On May 10, the tech behemoth Google was contacted by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in response to several arguments against the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) denial of a stay on the controversial Play Store billing policy.

The matter is now scheduled for hearing on May 24 by the appeal tribunal.

Kuku FM, Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF), and Shaadi.com filed the appeal with the NCLAT.

The fair trade commission said in a ruling dated March 20 that app developers have not been able to establish a case for the granting of temporary relief that would totally prevent Google from collecting its fees.

Additionally, the informants—the software developers—have not been able to show how the contested behavior will cause irreversible injury that cannot be made up for with financial compensation. In its ruling, the CCI said, "The Commission is also not persuaded that the balance of convenience lies in favor of the Informants."

Google is now free to remove Indian digital firms' applications from the Play Store if they don't follow the company's payment policies thanks to the CCI action.

The Competition Act of 2002 is "prima facie" violated by the tech giant's User Choice Billing (UCB) system, according to a ruling issued by the CCI earlier in March.

The Director General (DG) was also given an order by the antitrust agency to start an inquiry, finish it, and submit a report on it within 60 days.

In 2023, Google launched the User Choice Billing system in India as part of its attempts to abide by the antitrust ruling issued by the CCI in October 2022. It made it possible for developers to provide a different in-app payment mechanism in addition to Google Play's own.

A 4 percent rate decrease on the transaction will still apply if the customer pays using the alternative billing system, commonly known as the user choice billing system.

Many app developers, the majority of whom were headquartered in India, took issue with it since they felt it went against the CCI's 2022 judgment, which penalized the tech giant Rs 936 crore for abusing its dominating position in the play store ecosystem.

Google app delisting controversy

Google delisted more than 100 applications from developers in March 2024, including Shaadi.com, Kuku FM, Info Edge (which operates Naukri, 99acres, and Jeevansathi), Matrimony, and Shaadi.com, for violating the company's app pricing rules for a prolonged time up to March 1.

After a week, due to government involvement, Google temporarily restored these applications to the Play Store.

A forum has been set up between the tech giant and a few well-known Indian app developers, such as Matrimony and Shaadi.com, to find a long-term solution for the app payment problem over the next 120 days, according to a March 5 article from Moneycontrol.

Google took action after the Supreme Court declined to provide a temporary injunction that would have prevented these online companies from being removed from Google Play Store on February 9, 2024. Nevertheless, it has consented to hear the case in the near future.

A division bench and a single judge of the Madras High Court had already turned down an appeal by the app makers. They then filed an appeal against the Madras High Court's ruling with the Supreme Court.