Apple escalates fight with India antitrust watchdog over access to global financials

Apple has accused the Competition Commission of India (CCI) of overstepping its judicial authority in a new court filing tied to an ongoing antitrust case in the country. Here are the details.

Time is running out in India antritrust case

For the past few years, Apple has been fighting the Competition Commission of India in an antitrust investigation that accuses the company of abusing its dominant position on the App Store. Apple has always denied the accusations.

The main point of contention between the two sides is how any potential penalty would be calculated.

Under India’s updated competition law from 2024, fines can be based on a company’s global turnover, rather than just local revenue. In Apple’s case, the company says this could amount to a $38 billion levy, which Apple has described as “manifestly arbitrary, unconstitutional, grossly disproportionate, unjust.”

Apple has repeatedly challenged the penalty framework underpinning that calculation and has asked the Delhi High Court to declare the 2024 law itself illegal.

The back-and-forth of Apple’s requests has led the CCI to grow impatient. As 9to5Mac covered earlier this year:

Now, the CCI has filed its own confidential order, accusing Apple of repeatedly seeking extensions that impede the timely conclusion of the antitrust proceedings, and threatening to proceed with the case.

Nearly four months later, little seems to have changed. The ICC issued an ultimatum a few days ago, demanding that the company release its financial information. As a response, Apple is now accusing the ICC of overstepping its judicial authority by requesting such documents.

As reported by Reuters, citing a non-public court filing submitted in India on April 24:

After the ​CCI this month gave Apple an ultimatum to submit its financials and scheduled a final hearing on May ‌21, ⁠the company has urged the Delhi High Court to urgently intervene to put the matter on hold.

The “commission’s decision to schedule a final hearing represents an escalation in its efforts to usurp the Hon’ble Court’s authority,” Apple said in the filing, in which it ​asked the court to ​hear the matter on ⁠May 15.

Reuters says it reached out to Apple and the CCI for comment, but neither responded at the time of publication.

To read Reuters’ full report, follow this link.

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