Apple has reversed its earlier refusal and agreed to hand over India-specific financial data to the Competition Commission of India (CCI), according to a confidential CCI order cited by Reuters. At a May 21 hearing, Apple’s lawyer requested a final extension until June 25 to file the documents — a deadline the regulator granted. The CCI typically requires a company’s local financials to calculate penalties. The move brings a years-long antitrust case significantly closer to a fine, which could reach up to $38 billion under India’s revised competition law, which bases penalties on global rather than domestic revenue — a provision Apple has separately challenged in court.
The underlying case dates to 2021, when Match Group and the Alliance of Digital India Foundation filed complaints over App Store policies. The CCI concluded its investigation in 2024, finding that Apple abused its dominant market position and that the App Store was effectively unavoidable for developers seeking to reach iPhone users. Apple had resisted submitting financial data by arguing the case should be paused pending its constitutional challenge to the new penalty framework; the CCI repeatedly rejected that argument, accusing Apple of using the parallel lawsuit to delay proceedings. A Delhi High Court judge directed Apple to cooperate in May after the company sought to suspend the case. The stakes are especially significant given India’s rising importance to Apple: the iPhone now commands about 9% of the Indian smartphone market, up from roughly 2% five years ago, and Apple has substantially expanded local manufacturing as part of its strategy to reduce reliance on China.
MacRumors (via Reuters)