Google delays its 30 percent in-app commission in India after facing backlash

According to a report published by Tech Crunch, Google has delayed its plan to enforce a 30 percent in-app commission rule in India. The new Play Store billing rules will not come into effect until April 2022. For the rest of the world, the new Play Store rules go live in September 2021.

Indian startups and companies heavily criticized the latest 30 percent in-app commission rule saying that it’ll eat into their revenue and profits. The Government of India was also said to be considering requests from entrepreneurs to challenge Google’s Play Store monopoly in India. It’s likely that Google’s move to postpone its latest Play Store billing system is a direct response to the call for setting up a Play Store alternative.

The search giant is said to be listening to Indian developers and is willing to allay their concerns.

Google’s Android enjoys a massive 99% market share in India. Back in 2016, India’s app market grew massively, outpacing the US as the top country by Google Play downloads. However, only a small percentage of India consumers are paying for Play Store subscriptions, which, also explains why startups and companies in India heavily criticized the new Play Store billing system.

Meanwhile, an Indian e-commerce payment company, Paytm today has launched its mini App Store for Indian developers. Paytm’s new app store, which is essentially a PWA, includes popular apps such as Decathlon, Ola, Rapido, Netmeds, 1MG, Domino’s Pizza, FreshMenu, NoBroker. and more.