The situation has transpired in the following manner up until this point: Google released a public announcement on March 1st, stating that it will be deleting the applications of almost a dozen different companies from its marketplace for Android applications.
This announcement was made public. It has been made known to the general population. During the legal actions that took place over several years between the search giant and Indian enterprises of the same name, the Madras High Court and the Supreme Court were both involved in the proceedings.
These proceedings took place in India. On the other hand, even though the news appeared to be completely unexpected, disputes that had been going on for years had preceded it. Following the participation of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the implementation of the restoration of the applications took place on Monday; however, the problem has not been completely resolved.
As a consequence of the fundamental problem, there is a significant controversy regarding the platform fees that Google is currently charging. In-app transactions that include a digital service are subject to a fee that can range anywhere from 11 to 30 percent of the total cost of each transaction. This fee is charged by Google for each and all transactions that take place within the app.
The purchase of an ebook or a subscription to an over-the-top (OTT) streaming service are two instances of transactions that are examples of transactions that fall under this category. This price applies to any transactions that take place within the Google Play Store, regardless of the circumstances surrounding the transaction. This pricing structure, according to Google, makes it possible for the firm to continue building the Android ecosystem while also being able to pay for Google Play.
The corporation explains the necessity of the money by stating that it is necessary for the following reasons. It is the responsibility of each developer to pay a different share of the charge, and the exact amount varies from developer to developer individually. If a developer is selling a recurring subscription service and is using Google's billing system, the company will impose a fee equal to fifteen percent of the entire amount. This price will be charged to the developer. In addition, the corporation will only apply this levy on the developer if the developer's yearly income from in-app payments is less than one million dollars. When larger organizations make purchases of mobile applications, they are subject to a charge that accounts for thirty percent of the whole cost of the program.
The regulatory scrutiny that has been applied to both of these payments has been particularly stringent in India and South Korea, two countries that have been among the most stringent in this regard. When developers in these countries decide to use a different method of payment, Google charges them either 11% or 26% of the entire amount, depending on the method that they choose to use.
Although this is the case, Indian developers, much like their colleagues in other areas of the world, think that these fees are unreasonably high. When contrasted with the circumstances in other nations, this is the situation that happens. Numerous firms, such as Bharat Matrimony and Disney+ Hotstar, have submitted petitions to the courts at a variety of levels to circumvent the obligation of paying the charge in its entirety. Through the submission of these petitions, an attempt has been made to get around the necessity that they pay the price.