Delhi HC defers Apple challenge to CCI's global turnover penalty rules to January

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday deferred the hearing in Apple Inc.’s challenge to India’s revised competition law provisions that allow penalties to be calculated on a company’s global turnover, pushing the matter to 27 January 2026.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela adjourned the proceedings after senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Apple, sought time to respond to a joint affidavit filed by the Centre and the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

The court directed the Centre and the CCI to place the affidavit on record within a week and granted Apple liberty to file a counter. The contents of the affidavit are not yet public, but it seeks to justify computing penalties on the basis of global turnover rather than India-specific revenue.

Global turnover test

The case stems from Apple’s constitutional challenge to amendments introduced through changes to Section 27(b) of the Competition Act in 2023 and the Monetary Penalty Guidelines notified in 2024. These provisions empower the CCI to impose fines of up to 10% of a company’s average global turnover over the preceding three financial years.

On 1 December, the high court had issued notice to the Union government and the CCI, asking them to explain why penalties should be linked to global turnover instead of India revenue. The bench had declined to issue any direction on the CCI’s request that Apple be compelled to submit its financial details by 8 December, and also refrained from commenting on Apple’s plea seeking protection from potential coercive action by the regulator.

Apple approached the high court in November after the CCI sought its financial statements as part of an ongoing investigation into the company’s App Store payment policies.

That probe follows complaints filed between 2021 and 2022 by NGOs, Indian startups and Match Group, the owner of Tinder, Hinge and OkCupid, alleging that Apple abused its dominant position by mandating the use of its in-app payment system and charging commissions of up to 30%. The CCI found prima facie evidence of abuse, a finding Apple has denied.

In its petition, Apple warned that the amended penalty framework could expose it to fines of nearly $38 billion if found guilty. It argued that penalizing India-specific conduct using global turnover is “arbitrary” and “grossly disproportionate”, particularly when the alleged conduct involves only a small fraction of its global business.

The CCI has opposed Apple’s plea, contending that the company is attempting to delay the proceedings.

“We have only asked for India turnover, not global turnover—why are they withholding it?” senior advocate Balbir Singh, appearing for the regulator, told the court. He said the investigation is complete and Apple must respond to the Director General’s report rather than seek to stall the process.

The regulator has maintained that global turnover is considered only as a last resort, and that penalties are determined after defining the relevant product and geographic markets.

The case is expected to serve as a test of how India applies its new penalty framework to large multinational technology firms, with broader implications for future CCI enforcement against Big Tech.

The litigation comes even as Apple continues to scale rapidly in India. Driven by strong demand for the iPhone 17, the company has posted 14 consecutive quarters of growth and is expected to sell 15.5 million iPhones in 2025, up 25% year-on-year.

Apple commands a 28% share of India’s premium smartphone market by value and overtook Samsung to become the world’s largest smartphone brand in the first quarter of 2025, with a 19% global market share, according to Counterpoint Research.