After deciding to customise solutions for app developers, Google Play Store has now extended the deadline for implementing the new Play Store billing system to October 2022 in a relief to developers in India.

Earlier, the timeline for developers to integrate the new billing system was extended up to March 2022.

A Google spokesperson said, “We recognise the unique needs of the developer ecosystem in India and remain committed to partnering with developers in India on their growth journey. In October 2020, we had announced March 31, 2022 as the timeline for developers in India to integrate with Play’s billing system.”

“We are extending this to October 31, 2022 to provide developers in India the required product support for recurring payments through convenient user payment systems, including UPI and wallets, and also provide them more time in light of the changes to India’s recurring digital payments guidelines,” the spokesperson added.

There has been a nation-wide disagreement on Google’s initial proposal to charge 30 per cent commission on in-app sale of digital goods and services. Further, developers will be restricted to use other billing systems or payment gateways, which generally charge a commission of 2-5 per cent. This, according to start-ups, was likely to have an adverse impact especially in India, given that nearly 80 per cent of the app store market is dominated by Google Play Store.

“Our service fee only applies to developers who sell digital content which is less than 3 per cent of the developers on Google Play. This means that 97 per cent of developers can distribute their app and utilize all of our developer tools and services at no cost,” Google said in an email.

Also read:Google proposes to introduce customised pricing and solutions for app developers

“Globally and in India, to help developers succeed on Play, we have announced reductions in our service fee for different categories of developers. We’ve moved beyond a single service fee model as developers operate in different industries that require different levels of support to build sustainable businesses. Only 3 per cent of developers pay a fee, and of that small percentage, 99 per cent of developers globally qualify for a service fee of just 15 per cent or less,” Google explained.

On October 21, 2021, Google Play had announced changes to the service fee model, cutting fees for subscriptions from 30 per cent to 15 per cent and further reducing the fee for specific verticals of apps in the Play Media Experience Program to 10 per cent.

In the same month, in India, The Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF), which represents over 400 Indian start-ups and app developers had moved to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) seeking interim relief from the new Play Store policies.

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