Due to non-payment, Google India may remove Bharat Matrimony, Info Edge, and eight other services
Due to non-payment, Google India may remove Bharat Matrimony, Info Edge, and eight other services
Due to a dispute over service fee payments, tech giant Google may remove apps from ten Indian companies, including well-known matrimony apps, according to sources cited by Reuters. It further stated that the action might worsen ties with startup companies.
The startups’ objections to Google imposing a service charge on in-app purchases in India, which ranges from 11 to 26 percent, are at the center of the conflict. This is in response to antitrust authorities ordering Google to decommission its prior system, which assessed fees ranging from 15 to 30 percent.
At the end of January and February, Google was granted permission by the courts to impose the fee or remove the apps. An important factor in this authorisation was the Supreme Court’s ruling to deny startups relief.
Google, a division of Alphabet Inc., has notified Matrimony.com and Info Edge, two Indian companies, about Play Store violations. The companies behind the BharatMatrimony app, Matrimony.com, and Jeevansathi, an app that is similar, Info Edge, are in the process of going over the notifications.
The news caused shares of Info Edge and Matrimony.com to drop by 1.5% and 2.7%, respectively. Since then, the stocks have increased. Matrimony.com was trading at ₹545 at 1:35 pm, while Info Edge was trading at ₹5,291.15.
Both companies’ executives told Reuters they are analyzing the notification and will think about what to do next.
Ten Indian companies have opted not to pay for the substantial value they receive on Google Play, as highlighted by Google in a blog post. Citing the February 9 ruling of the Supreme Court, which declined to impede this right, it emphasized its entitlement to charge fees.
The Indian startup community, which has criticized the company’s policies, is concerned about the possible removal of Google’s apps. With 94 percent of phones running on its Android platform, Google claims that the money it charges covers developer tools and analytic services, as well as investments in the Android OS and app store.
Only 3% of the more than 200,000 Indian developers that use the Google Play platform are compelled to pay a service charge, according to Google.
