New Delhi: Apple has agreed to submit financial details related to its India operations to the Competition Commission of India (CCI), marking a significant development in the competition regulator’s ongoing investigation into the company’s App Store practices.
According to a Reuters report citing a confidential CCI order, Apple informed the regulator last month that it would provide India-specific financial information, a key requirement typically used by the watchdog while assessing potential penalties in antitrust cases. The CCI has granted the company until June 25 to furnish the requested data after Apple sought additional time during a hearing held on May 21.
The latest development comes amid a long-running competition case that began in 2021 following complaints filed by Match Group, owner of Tinder, and the Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF), which represents several Indian digital startups. The complainants alleged that Apple’s App Store policies unfairly restricted app developers and limited competition.
A CCI investigation completed in 2024 concluded that Apple had abused its dominant position in the market for app distribution on iPhones. The probe found that developers seeking access to iPhone users were compelled to use Apple’s in-app payment mechanism and were prevented from offering alternative third-party payment options for in-app purchases.
Apple has consistently denied the allegations and has indicated that it intends to challenge the findings.
The company had earlier resisted providing financial information, arguing that the proceedings should be paused while courts reviewed India’s revised antitrust penalty framework. Under the amended rules, the CCI can calculate fines based on a company’s global turnover rather than restricting calculations to domestic revenue.
Apple argued that any request involving global financial data could expose it to penalties worth billions of dollars. However, the regulator maintained that its immediate request was limited to India-specific financial information and accused the company of prolonging proceedings through parallel legal challenges.
In a setback to Apple’s position, an Indian court last month directed the company to cooperate with the ongoing regulatory process.
The CCI has also asked Apple to formally submit its objections to the findings of the investigation, paving the way for the next stage of the case.
The scrutiny of Apple’s App Store business model comes as India becomes an increasingly strategic market for the company. Apple has significantly expanded its manufacturing footprint in the country as part of its broader effort to diversify production beyond China.
Market data from Counterpoint Research, cited by Reuters, indicates that Apple’s share of India’s smartphone market has grown to around 9%, up from approximately 2% five years ago. Despite the growth, Apple has maintained that it remains a relatively small player in a market overwhelmingly dominated by smartphones running Google’s Android operating system.
The case is being closely watched as it follows another major CCI action involving digital platforms. In 2022, the regulator imposed a $113 million penalty on Google over its in-app payment policies, a decision that the company also contested.
With Apple now expected to submit the requested financial disclosures, the antitrust proceedings could move closer to a final determination on potential penalties and remedies.
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