Apple Withholds Financial Data as India Fast-Tracks App Store Antitrust Case

Apple has not submitted financial data sought by India's antitrust watchdog, prompting regulators to fast-track a decision on penalties and set a final hearing for May 21.



The standoff stems from an April 8 order where the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said Apple has not submitted details of its financials or its views on the investigation since October 2024. Instead, the company has pointed to a separate, ongoing legal battle in the Delhi High Court. Earlier this year, Apple asked the court to block the probe, challenging India's entire antitrust penalty law.


Regulators typically use this data to calculate penalties when a company is found to have contravened the law. Apple has consistently denied any wrongdoing, but said it fears it could be fined up to $38 billion if authorities use its global turnover rather than local revenue. In the recent order, which was reviewed by Reuters, the watchdog rejected Apple's request to pause proceedings and maintained that the company is trying to stall the antitrust case.

The antitrust case originally grew out of a 2021 complaint by a non-profit group, eventually drawing support from Tinder parent company Match and several local startups. Investigators concluded in 2024 that Apple exploited its dominant position by forcing developers to use its proprietary in-app purchase system.

This regulatory friction is playing out just as India becomes a crucial market for Apple's bottom line. The iPhone maker now controls roughly 9 percent of the local smartphone market, up from just 4 percent two years ago. The region has also turned into a major manufacturing hub, with Apple currently assembling around 25 percent of all its iPhones inside the country.

While the CCI has given Apple two more weeks to file its responses, it has for the first time set a final hearing date of May 21. Lawyers say this signals the watchdog is hardening its stance and moving toward the next phase of the case.