NEW DELHI | Jan 22 (GeokHub) Apple has asked an Indian court to restrain the country’s antitrust regulator from demanding access to its global financial records, escalating a legal dispute over the company’s App Store practices and the scope of India’s competition law.
Court filings show the U.S. technology giant has petitioned the Delhi High Court to halt actions by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) while it challenges the legal framework governing how penalties are calculated for antitrust violations.
The CCI has accused Apple of abusing its dominant position in the App Store ecosystem, allegations the company strongly denies.
Dispute Over Penalty Rules
At the centre of the dispute is India’s 2024 penalty framework, which allows regulators to calculate fines based on a company’s global turnover, rather than revenue generated solely within India.
Apple has warned that applying this approach could expose it to penalties of up to $38 billion, a figure it argues is disproportionate and legally unsound. The company has separately challenged the validity of the penalty rules in court, a case that remains pending.
Despite the ongoing challenge, the CCI issued a confidential order on Dec. 31 requesting Apple’s global financial data as part of its investigation.
In a filing dated Jan. 15, Apple asked the Delhi High Court to direct the watchdog to suspend the investigation and refrain from enforcing any actions until the legal questions around the penalty framework are resolved.
Regulator Pushes Ahead
Apple argued in its filing that complying with the request at this stage would undermine its broader legal challenge, effectively rendering the court case meaningless.
The CCI, however, has defended its approach, arguing that penalties based on global turnover are necessary to deter violations by multinational corporations with limited domestic revenue exposure.
Neither Apple nor the CCI responded to requests for comment from Reuters.
Next Steps
The Delhi High Court is scheduled to hear the matter on Jan. 27, a decision that could have far-reaching implications for how India enforces antitrust rules against global technology companies operating in its rapidly growing digital market.
