The court ruled that the issue lies within the jurisdiction of the Competition Commission of India
New Delhi, NFAPost: In the case concerning Google’s in-app billing policy, the Madras High Court dismissed the appeals by 14 of the 16 companies. The list of companies includes Bharat Matrimony and Unacademy.
The court ruled that the issue lies within the jurisdiction of the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
“Abuse of a dominant position and imposition of agreement terms by a dominant enterprise are matters within the jurisdiction of the CCI, as per the Competition Act’s framework. Thus, Section 61 of the Competition Act clearly bars the jurisdiction of the civil court from handling suits related to the abuse of a dominant position by an enterprise,” Justice S Sounthar stated in the order.
Now, two remaining appeals exist against Google, one from Disney+ Hotstar, a streaming service, and another from Testbook, an exam preparation app.
The court further stated that the Competition Act provides a more comprehensive remedy than the civil courts, including the high court. “The Competition Act is a complete code in itself and provides an effective and comprehensive remedy before the specialised forum. The order of the CCI can be appealed before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal,” the order said.
In April, the court temporarily barred Google from delisting the mobile applications of Matrimony.com Ltd, Bharat Matrimony’s parent company, from the Google Play Store.
The temporary order was based on a plea filed by Matrimony.com, challenging Google’s new payment policy. The company aimed to prevent Alphabet Inc and other Google subsidiaries from removing its app from the Google Play Store for not accepting Google’s new payment policy. Matrimony.com received relief until June 1.
In October of last year, the CCI imposed a penalty of Rs 936 crore on Google, instructing it not to restrict app developers from using any third-party billing services and not to impose any discriminatory conditions.
The startups argued before the high court that Google introduced the Alternative Billing System/User Choice Billing System only to circumvent the CCI order. They asked the court to declare the charges under the Google Play Billing System and Alternate Billing System/User Choice Billing System as illegal, void, and unenforceable.
The high court, however, stated that if a CCI order is violated, the Competition Act itself provides for effective civil and criminal remedies.
Matrimony.com told the court that in 2020, Google made the use of the Google Play Billing System (GPBS) mandatory for processing payments for downloading paid apps and in-app purchases. The company argued that Google, using its monopoly in the Android platform, forced app developers to agree to their payment policy by charging service fees at the rate of 11 per cent and 26 per cent for payments made through the Alternate Billing System.
Earlier in July, Disney approached the Madras High Court to challenge Google’s in-app billing system. Disney, which operates the Disney+ Hotstar streaming app in India, told the court that Google threatened to remove the streaming app if it didn’t comply with the new payment system. In response, the court directed Google not to remove the app from the store and to receive a 4 per cent service fee from Disney.
In May 2023, Google announced its plans to enforce the Play billing policy in India. In February, it stated that from April 26, 2023, it would allow app developers to offer an alternate billing system for in-app purchases in India.
The Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF), which represents a group of digital startups, filed a petition before the Delhi High Court in April to suspend Google’s new in-app billing fee system, named User Choice Billing (UCB), until the CCI investigates the company for alleged non-compliance with its directives. Google planned to implement the UCB from April 26.
