Apple has been engaged in a high-stakes legal battle with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for some time. The probe appears to be progressing, as the Cupertino-based tech giant on Wednesday agreed to share the financial details of its India business with the country’s competition watchdog. Indian authorities had previously accused the iPhone maker of delaying proceedings by withholding information needed to calculate any potential fine. The decision could remove a long-standing obstacle in a case that has been under investigation for years and may eventually lead to a penalty ruling. Experts and industry observers are closely monitoring developments of the probe as India becomes increasingly important to Apple’s global growth strategy.
According to Reuters, a confidential order from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) indicates that Apple is ready to share its India-specific financial information with the authorities. Not only that, but in a meeting held on May 21, Apple had also sought an extension till June 25 for submission of the data, which has been granted by CCI.
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The conflict began in 2021 when a number of complainants consisting of Tinder’s parent company, Match Group, and other startups under ADIF brought an issue regarding the policies implemented by Apple Inc., which includes its in-app purchase policies as well as those applied against app developers.
After an investigation, the CCI concluded in 2024 that Apple had abused its position in the market for iPhone apps. The regulator found that the App Store was an unavoidable platform for developers who wanted to reach iPhone users and noted that developers were not allowed to use third-party payment services for in-app purchases.
Apple has denied wrongdoing and said it plans to challenge the findings. The company had also argued that the case should be put on hold while it challenged India’s revised antitrust penalty rules. Those rules allow regulators to consider a company’s global revenue when calculating fines in certain cases.
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The tech giant claimed that the regulator had sought global financial information, which it said could expose the company to penalties worth as much as $38 billion. However, the CCI rejected that argument, saying it initially required only Apple’s India financials. A Delhi High Court judge also directed Apple to cooperate with the investigation.