Apple says the amended law allowing penalties on global turnover is unconstitutional and disproportionate.
The challenge comes amid an ongoing CCI probe into alleged abuse of dominance through App Store policies.
The regulator’s final decision is pending, while Apple’s 545-page plea seeks to block or reinterpret the new penalty provision.
Apple has moved to the Delhi High Court to challenge India’s updated antitrust penalty framework, arguing that the revised law, which allows fines to be calculated on a company’s global turnover, can expose the company to one of the largest penalties ever imposed in the country. As per the court filing reviewed by Reuters, the potential fine could reach as high as USD 38 billion.
SurveyThe dispute originates from an ongoing investigation by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) into whether Apple’s App Store policies constitute abuse of dominance in the iOS ecosystem. It began in 2022 in response to complaints from Indian startups and global firms such as Match Group, alleging that the company’s restrictions and commission structure stifle competition in the digital market.
While the CCI has yet to issue a final order, Apple has categorically denied any misconduct. The company claims that the 2024 amendment, which allows the regulator to calculate penalties using global turnover rather than just India-specific revenue, is unconstitutional and overly harsh. In its 545-page petition, Apple requests that the provision be struck down or reinterpreted, describing the potential penalty based on worldwide earnings as arbitrary and grossly disproportionate. Interestingly, the detailed filing has not yet been made public.
Under current rules, the regulator can impose fines of as much as 10 per cent of a company’s average global revenue over three fiscal years. Based on Apple’s earnings, the penalty could reach tens of billions of dollars, far exceeding previous penalties imposed in India. Similar global turnover-based penalty structures already exist in the European Union, where major technology companies face high penalties for antitrust violations.
It should be noted that CCI’s final decision is still pending in the App Store investigation, and we may have to wait another few weeks or months, depending on how the lawsuit moves forward.
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Ashish Singh
Ashish Singh is the Chief Copy Editor at Digit. He's been wrangling tech jargon since 2020 (Times Internet, Jagran English '22). When not policing commas, he's likely fueling his gadget habit with coffee, strategising his next virtual race, or plotting a road trip to test the latest in-car tech. He speaks fluent Geek. View Full Profile
