Google, Indian app developers to pause billing dispute for 4 months

Google and Indian startups have agreed to pause the dispute over the Google App billing policy for four months, reported Business Standard. As per the report, Google will continue to in-voice the bills for its full applicable services fees in the interim. However, the tech giant will extend the time for the payment until a resolution is achieved.

Google vs India App developers

Google on Friday, delisted certain Indian apps from its play store over non-compliance to its billing rules. Startups that have developed these apps have been engaged in a tussle with Google over the past three years.

Also Read: Union Minister of Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw meets with Google and Startup community

On Tuesday, Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology has met with representatives of Google and Startup community and said that the American tech giant has agreed to list all the applications & restore their status as it was on Friday.

"Google and start-up company, both have met with us. We have had very constructive discussions and finally, Google has agreed to list all the Apps as on the status which was there on Friday morning (1st March), that status will be restored. Google has been supporting our technology development journey and we believe that in the coming months, both start-up company and Google will come to a long-term resolution", said Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The IT minister had been supportive of the Indian Startup eco-system and had said that Google's actions can not be permitted.

Anupam Mittal, chief executive officer of People Group, which runs Shaadi.com, thanked union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Rajeev Chandrasekhar for their intervention in the dispute.

“Thanks to the tireless efforts of a handful of founders and your support, the Indian startup ecosystem sighed a sigh of relief yesterday when Google was compelled to defer its decision to impose monopolistic lagan (levy), albeit temporarily,” Mittal posted in X (formerly Twitter).

He further added that both startups and Google has agreed upon a 120 day period to come up with a solution that is non-monopolistic and reflects free-market forces.

Playstores usually levy 15-30% fee for in-app purchases and subscriptions for those using Google’s billing system. For developers that choose its third-party billing option, Google levies a commission of 11-26%, marking a reduction of 4% on the service fee.

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