Delhi High Court directs CCI to dispose start-ups application against Google

The applications filed by the Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) and its members submitted that the new ‘User Choice Billing’ (UCB) of Google which will be enforced from 26 April is in violation of the earlier CCI order, which fined the tech-giant for not allowing third-party payment options.

In October 2022, the competition watchdog slapped a fine on Google for its Google Play Billing System (GPBS), which was the only payment method available for app developers and Google used to charge 15-30% commission. The CCI directed Google to allow third-party payment options.

The petitioners submitted that the new UCB is a cloaked version of the GPBS, which claims to provide liberty to app developers to opt for third-party payment aggregators, but in turn, charge a service fee of 11-26% from the developers.

The plea also alleged that the tech giant tried to take advantage of the lack of quorum at the CCI. Before approaching court, the petitioners filed several complaints with the competition watchdog, which went unheard.

According to the petition, Google is exploiting the fact that the CCI doesn’t have enough members to form a quorum. As a result, the company is engaging in behaviors that are anti-competitive and will cause lasting harm to both the petitioners and other app developers in the market. This behavior will also lead to market distortion.

The AIDF-led petitioners requested and sought directions to Google to postpone the implementation of UCB, till CCI adjudicates on their applications and the tech giant must not charge any commissions on third-party payment transactions.

“There is no impediment, whether legal or otherwise, in directing the CCI to hear the applications filed by the petitioner under section 42 and decide it on or before April 26”, the single-judge ordered.

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