Google's new billing system violates the competition law. This is what the Competition Commission of India claims. Because of this, CCI ordered a probe on Friday, Mar. 15, to target the search engine giant.

The commission said that Google's User Choice Billing (UCB) system is "prima facie" violative of the Competition Act (2002). Here are other details you need to know about Google's UCB issue in India.

Google's New Billing System Violates Competition Law

According to Money Control's latest report, the Competition Commission of India ordered the Director General to conduct a probe. The DG must complete this investigation and file a report regarding the issue within 60 days.

"The Commission is of the prima facie view that Google has violated the provisions of Section 4(2)(a), 4(2)(b) and 4(2)(c) of the Act, as elaborated supra which warrants detailed investigation," said CCI in its order.

CCI officials explained that Google imposed unfair prices on app developers. They added that developers had fewer resources to improve their app offerings.

Because of this, CCI concluded that Google constrained the app market's growth in India.

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Issue Between Google and Indian Firms

Yahoo Finance reported that Google and Indian startups have been at odds over the fee the search engine giant charges for in-app payments.

Google Eben removed some apps developed by Indian companies from the Google Play Store due to disputes regarding the UCB system.

Due to this problem, Indian startups have asked CCI to investigate the matter. Now, the Competition Commission of India is probing Google's UCB.

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