Big Win For Startups As Google Withdraws Plea Against CCI Probe Into Billing System

In a major win for app developers and startups in India, tech giant Google has withdrawn its appeal against a Delhi High Court order asking the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to hear the petitions moved by Indian startups against Google’s user choice billing system.

Google’s counsel senior advocate Sajan Poovayya told the Delhi HC that the order was passed by a single judge when the CCI did not have the quorum to hear the plea, Moneycontrol reported. However, the CCI now has the quorum and has been hearing the plea by startups, he said.

Poovayya further told the court that while Google wishes to withdraw the appeal, it wishes to keep the questions of law open.

On the other hand, the CCI’s counsel Akanksha Kaul told the court that the regulator has no objections to the withdrawal. 

The matter goes back to April this year, when a group of Indian startups moved the Delhi HC asking the competition watchdog to hear their appeals against Google’s user choice billing system. The HC then asked the CCI to hear the applications.

In May 2023, the CCI said it needed to inquire into Google’s new billing policy and check whether the company complied with its October 2022 order asking the tech major not to restrict app developers from using third-party billing systems.

The bone of contention is the commission charged by Google on all in-app purchases for the apps listed on its app store, the Google Play Store. Indian startups have been vocally opposing the tech giant’s policies, calling them a modern-day lagaan.

Google came out with the new user choice billing system after the CCI slapped a fine of INR 936 Cr on it last year for abusing its dominant position in the app store market.