Apple anti-trust probe: Delhi HC asks CCI to hold its order till 15 July, tells firm to cooperate

New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Friday asked the Competition Commission of India not to pass any final order in its probe against Apple Inc. into alleged anti-competitive practices linked to its App Store payment system till the court's next hearing in July. It also directed the US tech giant to cooperate with the anti-trust body in its ongoing probe.

A bench led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia refused to grant Apple any further extension for appearing before the CCI and furnishing information sought by the regulator regarding its domestic turnover.

The court recorded CCI’s statement and said “no final decision shall be taken” till the next date of hearing on 15 July.

The matter before the Delhi High Court stems from Apple’s broader constitutional challenge to amendments introduced by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023, and the accompanying 2024 Monetary Penalty Guidelines, which allow penalties to be calculated on the basis of a company’s global turnover rather than India-specific or product-specific revenue. Apple said the amended penalty framework could expose it to fines of nearly $38 billion if found guilty.

Appearing for Apple, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi told the court that the CCI had scheduled a final hearing for 21 May, despite the high court fixing the constitutional challenge for hearing on 15 July. Singhvi said if the regulator was allowed to proceed further, Apple’s challenge to the global turnover penalty framework would become “infructuous”.

Senior advocate Balbir Singh, appearing for the CCI, accused the company of delaying proceedings in a case pending since 2021. “A multinational company is stalling a regulator’s hand in 2026,” Singh told the court.

The CCI argued that while Apple’s challenge concerns global turnover, the regulator was currently seeking only information relating to the company’s domestic turnover. According to the regulator, Apple had failed to furnish the required details despite receiving seven extensions, preventing the CCI from concluding adjudication proceedings.

The regulator maintained that the investigation was complete, the director general’s report had been sent on Apple, and the company was now required to respond instead of delaying proceedings through litigation.

The court said it could not, at this stage, compel Apple to disclose the disputed information without examining whether the company was legally entitled to withhold it. The bench also noted that the regulator was free to draw adverse inferences or take steps available under the law if Apple failed to cooperate.

However, the court clarified that while the CCI may continue proceedings, it should not pass any final adjudication order till the next hearing.

Emails sent to Apple and CCI were unanswered till press time.

The probe

CCI is investigating Apple’s App Store payment policies following complaints between 2021 and 2022 by NGOs, Indian startups and Match Group, owner of Tinder, Hinge and OkCupid. The complainants alleged that Apple abused its dominant position by forcing app developers to use its in-app payment system and charging commissions of up to 30%, thereby restricting competition and market access.

The CCI had earlier found a prima facie case of abuse of dominance and ordered a detailed probe by its director general.

Apple approached the high court in November after the regulator sought its global turnover financial statements.

The company argued that penalising India-specific conduct using global turnover is “arbitrary” and “grossly disproportionate”.