- April 25, 2023
HC to CCI: Take up plea by startups against Google – Times of India
NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court has observed that the proceedings before the Competition Commission of India (CCI) would not be vitiated due to vacancy or any defect in its constitution. The court made the observations while directing the CCI to deal with the applications moved by a group of startups — Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) — challenging Google’s new in-app billing policy, which will come into force from April 26.
“Merely because of a defect or a vacancy in the constitution of the CCI, the CCI cannot be considered as a statutory authority not having jurisdiction to adjudicate the complaints or other proceedings pending before it. Any interpretation, other than the aforesaid,would render the provisions of section 15 otiose and which could not possibly be the intention of the Legislature either,” said the single judge bench of Justice Tushar Rao Gedela.
The petitioner, alleging inaction on the part of CCI to decide its application seeking interim relief against the policy for lack of quorum since October, contended in its petition that Google’s new billing policy is cloaked as another version of Google Play Billing System (GPBS), which projects the hoax of giving liberty to app developers to opt for third party payment processors.
The petition submitted that despite the user using third-party payment processors, Google will be charging service fee at a 4% reduced rate for transaction, which happens via non GPBS under the garb of new pricing policy.
The plea mentioned the order passed by CCI on October 25, in which it directed Google to not impose any condition on app developers, which is unfair, unreasonable or discriminatory to the services provided to them. In the same order, the CCI had directed the Google to ensure complete transparency in communicating to app developers the services provided along with the fee charged. The plea sought a direction that CCI can validly invoke doctrine of necessity in the matter for initiating non-compliance proceedings against Google.
“Merely because of a defect or a vacancy in the constitution of the CCI, the CCI cannot be considered as a statutory authority not having jurisdiction to adjudicate the complaints or other proceedings pending before it. Any interpretation, other than the aforesaid,would render the provisions of section 15 otiose and which could not possibly be the intention of the Legislature either,” said the single judge bench of Justice Tushar Rao Gedela.
The petitioner, alleging inaction on the part of CCI to decide its application seeking interim relief against the policy for lack of quorum since October, contended in its petition that Google’s new billing policy is cloaked as another version of Google Play Billing System (GPBS), which projects the hoax of giving liberty to app developers to opt for third party payment processors.
The petition submitted that despite the user using third-party payment processors, Google will be charging service fee at a 4% reduced rate for transaction, which happens via non GPBS under the garb of new pricing policy.
The plea mentioned the order passed by CCI on October 25, in which it directed Google to not impose any condition on app developers, which is unfair, unreasonable or discriminatory to the services provided to them. In the same order, the CCI had directed the Google to ensure complete transparency in communicating to app developers the services provided along with the fee charged. The plea sought a direction that CCI can validly invoke doctrine of necessity in the matter for initiating non-compliance proceedings against Google.
