India’s antitrust regulator has scheduled a final hearing for May 21 in its long-running case against Apple, after the company failed to submit key financial data required to calculate potential penalties, a regulatory order shows.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) stated in an April 8 order that Apple had not submitted details of its financials or its formal response to the body’s 2024 investigation report since October 2024. Instead, the company has pointed to a parallel challenge it filed at the Delhi High Court, where it is contesting India’s antitrust penalty framework as a whole. The CCI has rejected Apple’s request to suspend the antitrust proceedings pending that court case, saying the company has had sufficient opportunities to submit its objections and required financial information.
The case, which began in 2021 following a complaint by a non-profit organisation and was later joined by Match Group and several Indian startups, centres on allegations that Apple abused its dominant position in the iPhone apps market. The CCI’s 2024 investigation report concluded that the company’s requirement for developers to use its proprietary in-app purchase system, which levies commissions of up to 30 percent, constituted an abuse of market power by limiting access for third-party payment processors. Apple has consistently denied wrongdoing.
Apple’s resistance to submitting financial data stems partly from the scale of the risk it faces. The company has argued that if the CCI uses its global turnover as the basis for calculating a fine, the penalty could reach as high as 38 billion dollars, a figure it has described as grossly disproportionate. Apple has also maintained that its roughly 9 percent share of India’s smartphone market, compared to 4 percent two years ago according to data from Counterpoint Research, is too small to support a finding of dominance.
Regulators have rejected that framing, focusing instead on Apple’s absolute control over the iOS app distribution market rather than its share of the broader smartphone industry.
By setting a final hearing date for the first time, the CCI is signalling it is prepared to move toward a ruling even without full disclosure from the company. Antitrust lawyers have warned Apple that failing to provide audited financial figures before May 21 could significantly limit its ability to contest the size of any fine imposed.
India represents one of the world’s fastest-growing smartphone markets and a key battleground for global technology companies. A ruling against Apple could require the company to permit alternative payment systems on its platform or allow third-party app stores, putting India in line with enforcement actions already taken by the European Union under its Digital Markets Act.
