Several entrepreneurs are getting ready to file appeals against Google’s updated policy on service charges for in-app purchases and subscriptions, so the investigation into the company’s code of conduct in the Indian Android ecosystem is far from complete. For failing to follow the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) guidelines on Play Store policies, Paytm, BharatMatrimony, and ShareChat may file complaints against Google. On behalf of these platforms, the Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF), a trade association for digital companies, may shortly file a lawsuit.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which provided some relief to Google by overturning four out of ten important directives, is the reason for the current preparations. This may enable Google to remove pre-installed applications from Android devices. As of the time this article was being written, emails addressed to Paytm, BharatMatrimony, and ShareChat seeking information in this respect had not received a response.

In October 2022, CCI issued a court judgment requiring Google to permit app developers to use third-party billing or payment processing services for both in-app payments and out-of-app sales. After failing to obtain any temporary remedy from the Supreme Court in January, Google started the endeavor on the CCI’s directions. With the updated Play Store regulations, app developers can start offering the Google Play Billing System (GPBS) and other payment options in India as of April 26.

However, the service price for such transactions will be assessed by the App Store, which is 4 percent lower than the 15 to 30 percent rate for purchases made through Google Play billing. Hence, payments received through the alternative billing method will include a service fee that will be 11% of the developer’s annual income of $1 million and 26% of that amount. The startup claims that the cost is outrageous. Alternate billing won’t be financially advantageous in this circumstance. They must pay a processing charge of about 4% to the new service provider if they decide to utilize a third-party billing system. If the Google cost is put on top of this, the fee will be closer to the GPBS fee range of 15% to 30%. In this case, Google may exploit its dominance in the App Store market to push its billing system.

That Google exploited its market dominance in the Android ecosystem has been essentially supported by NCLAT’s ruling. It was decided that the corporation had abused its dominant position by requiring Manufacturers to pre-install the full Google Mobile Suite (GMS), a group of essential Google products and services that includes Google search, Chrome, YouTube, Google Maps, and Gmail. On the other side, Google claims that fees are essential for a long-term economic strategy in the Android ecosystem. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has upheld the Rs 1,337 crore punishment levied by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for abusing its dominant position in the Android market, dealing a significant blow to Google. Following a mandate from the Supreme Court, the NCLAT, an appeal body for decisions made by the CCI, began hearing the Android case on February 15. According to the antitrust appellate panel, the CCI’s ruling is free of confirmation bias.

Google has been given some downtime. Google was able to get several significant concessions in the NCLAT’s final ruling. Although the CCI had previously prohibited hosting of outside app stores inside the Play Store, Google will no longer be required to comply.  Also, Google won’t have to permit customers to uninstall pre-installed applications like Google Maps, Gmail, and YouTube. The business may also keep placing restrictions on “sideloading,” the technique of downloading programmes without going via an app store, which CCI had said ought to be stopped.