India: Apple faces antitrust fine of almost 33 billion euros
Apple is also facing an App Store investigation in India. This could potentially have high financial implications.
Indian flag: Apple is facing app store antitrust trouble worldwide.
(Image: siam.pukkato/Shutterstock.com)
Apple continues to grapple with a potentially very expensive competition investigation in India. In the worst-case scenario, court documents suggest a penalty of around 32.82 billion euros could be imposed, according to documents available to Reuters. The proceedings have been ongoing since 2022 and were initiated by Indian start-ups and the Match Group, which operates the dating portal Tinder, among others. As in several other countries, the case concerns Apple's App Store model, which allegedly enables the company to engage in "abusive behavior."
Apple wants to have the law overturned
Apple is currently attempting to have the penal law, which allows the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to collect up to 10 percent of a company's global annual revenue, declared null and void. It was already evident in 2024 that even Apple's massive investments in India, where 25 percent of all iPhones are now manufactured, the CCI could not stop. Apple considers itself entirely innocent in this proceeding. Apple is now trying to stop the applicability of the penal law at the responsible Delhi High Court – or to have it repealed entirely. It was only passed in 2024.
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The CCI was thus equipped with instruments similar to those known from the European Union. There too, penalties of up to 10 percent of global revenue exist. "A penalty based on worldwide revenue (…) would be manifestly arbitrary, unconstitutional, grossly disproportionate, and unjust," Apple writes regarding the Indian regulation.
Penalties only on Indian revenues
They have no choice but to have the constitutionality of the regulation reviewed, according to Apple's lawyers. Match, naturally, sees things differently and wrote to the CCI that such high penalties are a suitable means to prevent repetitions of such competition violations. It is unclear whether Apple will be successful.
An Indian legal expert in competition law told Reuters that the regulations in the law are clear and it will be difficult to convince the court otherwise. Among other things, Apple wants India to only be able to impose penalties on Indian revenues.
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