Apple has intensified its legal battle with India’s antitrust regulator, accusing the Competition Commission of India (CCI) of building its case by simply reproducing allegations made by rival companies instead of carrying out an independent investigation, reports Reuters. In a detailed submission filed on June 25, Apple asked the regulator to set aside the investigation’s findings, arguing that the entire probe suffered from serious procedural and analytical flaws. According to the company, investigators relied extensively on complaints filed by competitors and reproduced many of their claims almost word for word rather than independently verifying the evidence.
The case began in 2021 after complaints were filed against Apple’s App Store policies by several digital businesses and app developers. The complainants argued that the tech titan forces developers to use its own in-app payment system for digital purchases made through iPhones and iPads, while restricting them from directing users to cheaper or alternative payment options outside the App Store. They also claimed that Apple’s commission — up to 30% on certain digital transactions — increases costs for developers, reduces competition and ultimately affects consumers.
After a long investigation, the CCI’s Director General concluded in 2024 that Apple had abused its dominant position in the market for app distribution on iOS devices. However, the iPhone maker has denied all allegations, claiming its App Store rules are meant to protect users by ensuring better security, privacy and protection against fraud.
And now, in its latest submission, Apple has directly questioned the credibility of the investigation. The company said that investigators reproduced large parts of submissions made by rival companies, including Match Group, Walmart-backed PhonePe and Paytm, without carrying out their own economic and legal analysis. The firm claimed that many arguments, observations and even the wording in the investigation report closely matched the material submitted by these companies. According to Apple, instead of independently examining the evidence and testing the allegations, investigators simply accepted competitors’ claims and included them in the report. The company argues that such an approach weakens the fairness and reliability of the investigation.
Apple has also objected to the use of evidence from overseas cases. The company said parts of the report included charts and data on global spending on mobile apps and games that had earlier appeared in a European Union antitrust decision against Apple. According to the company, India’s smartphone market, app economy and consumer behaviour are very different from Europe’s, so regulators should not rely on international data without carrying out a detailed India-specific analysis.
Another major issue raised by Apple is the way the investigation was conducted. The company says investigators never allowed it to present oral evidence or explain how its App Store business model works during the investigation. Apple pointed out that Google was reportedly given several opportunities to explain its Android business during an earlier antitrust case in India. A key part of Apple’s defence is that it is not a dominant player in India’s overall smartphone market. The company says its market share in India is below 6%, while Android-powered smartphones account for the vast majority of devices sold in the country.
Under India’s competition law, companies found guilty of abusing their market position can face penalties of up to 10% of their turnover. The CCI has accused Apple of delaying the proceedings for more than two years by challenging procedural issues, questioning India’s penalty framework and initially refusing to provide financial information needed to calculate any possible fine. However, earlier this month, Apple agreed to submit its India-specific financial data for the financial years 2022 to 2024, allowing the regulator to move ahead with the next stage of the case if violations are confirmed.
The Tech Portal is published by Blue Box Media Private Limited. Our investors have no influence over our reporting. Read our full Ownership and Funding Disclosure →
Ashutosh is a Senior Writer at The Tech Portal, largely reporting on new tech, and intersection of technology and business. Ashutosh’s career spans across nearly a decade of technology writing across multiple platforms and languages.
