CCI has shifted from global to dome

The stance was made clear in the Delhi High Court, which is hearing a case centered around Apple’s alleged abuse of dominance in its App Store payments system. Apple is challenging the CCI rule that allows penalties based on global revenue.

On Friday, Apple indicated it would challenge the move to demand details of its domestic revenue. (Omitted because Apple has not yet presented global turnover).

In the hearing, the Delhi High Court stayed the CCI’s final order against Apple till July 15, while allowing the regulator to continue the proceedings.

Objecting to CCI’s new move on domestic revenue, Apple told the Delhi High Court that the issue will be addressed in an affidavit that it proposes to file in the ongoing high court proceedings.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Apple, said, “The request for global (revenue) and multi-product is in writing. Their reply (CCI’s counter affidavit) says the opposite.”

Senior advocate Balbir Singh, appearing for CCI, replied that the regulator had sought information as per its order.

The plea came after the CCI argued before the court that although Apple had challenged the revised penalty regime allowing fines based on global turnover, the regulator was currently only seeking details related to the company’s domestic turnover.

The Cupertino, California-based company expressed disappointment that CCI is now seeking domestic revenue while the fine was based on global revenue and said its affidavit “will include this.”

A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Tejas Karia directed the CCI not to issue any final order in the investigation into alleged anti-competitive practices by Apple till the next hearing in July, and also asked the company to cooperate in the ongoing investigation.

Refusing to grant more time to Apple to appear before the CCI and furnish information related to its domestic turnover, the bench told the regulator, “Keep your hands empty till July 15. Take the matter forward. They will cooperate but you will not pass the final order.”

Recording CCI’s statement, the court ordered that “no final decision shall be taken” until the case is heard again in mid-July.

The proceedings stem from Apple’s challenge to Apple’s move in November last year to amend the Competition Act, 2002 and 2024 monetary penalty guidelines, which allow penalties to be calculated based on global revenues rather than India-specific or product-specific revenues.

The amended provisions empower the CCI to impose fines up to 10 per cent of a company’s global revenue from all products and services, replacing the earlier norm that limited the fine to revenue generated from the specific product or service under investigation in India.

The law further provides that the average revenue of the last three financial years will be considered while calculating the penalty. Apple argued that the revised framework could result in a fine of about $38 billion.

Singhvi told the court that the CCI has scheduled the final hearing in the case for May 21, while Apple’s plea was already listed before the high court on July 15.

He argued that allowing the regulator to proceed would render Apple’s challenge to the global turnover framework “fruitless”.

CCI counsel Singh submitted that the company is delaying proceedings in a case pending since 2021.

“A multinational company is creating hurdles in the hands of the regulator in 2026,” Singh told the bench.

According to the regulator, Apple failed to provide the required information despite being granted seven extensions, preventing the judicial proceedings from reaching any conclusion.

CCI further said that the investigation has already been completed, the Director General’s report has been submitted to Apple and now a response is expected from the company. The regulator said that Apple is prolonging the matter through litigation.

The High Court said that at this stage, it cannot force Apple to disclose the disputed information without first examining whether the company is legally entitled to withhold it.

Also, it made it clear that the CCI will be free to draw adverse findings or take any action acceptable under law if Apple fails to cooperate. It nevertheless directed that the proceedings before the CCI may continue, but no final order should be passed before the next hearing.

The CCI probe into Apple’s App Store payment policies stems from complaints filed between 2021 and 2022 by two NGOs, Indian Startup and Match Group.

The complainants alleged that Apple abused its dominant position by mandating the use of its in-app payment system and charging commissions as high as 30 percent, thereby limiting competition and limiting market access.

The regulator had earlier found a prima facie case of abuse of dominance and had directed the Director General to conduct a detailed investigation.

Apple had approached the high court in November last year after the CCI sought financial details of its global business, arguing that imposing fines for India-specific conduct based on its worldwide business was “arbitrary” and “grossly disproportionate”.

“The maximum penalty exposure of the Applicants, i.e., at the rate of 10% of the average global turnover of the Applicants derived from the products/services of all the Applicants globally for FY2022 to FY2024, could be approximately USD ($) 38 billion. Any retrospective penalty imposed on the Applicants in terms of the revised penalty provisions implemented by the respondent Commission would be clearly arbitrary, irrational and grossly disproportionate. This is in violation of the Constitution of India,” Apple said in its petition. Is beyond the scope of the provisions of Article 14 and Article 21.

The company also argued that the CCI has no jurisdiction to consider its global business, terming such an interpretation as outside the scope of the Competition Act.

“Section 32 of the Competition Act provides only for restricted extra-territorial operation of the Competition Act. The respondent Commission (CCI) has no jurisdiction to consider products/services marketed beyond the territory of India, when the effect of any alleged anti-competitive conduct is limited to such foreign territory.”

The company relied on the Supreme Court’s 2017 Excel Crop Care judgment, saying that in line with the principle of proportionality, the fine should be linked only to the revenue earned from the infringing product or market.

Apple India reported revenue of Rs 79,378 crore for the financial year ending March 2025, up from Rs 67,122 crore last year. According to corporate affairs ministry data, profit for FY25 stood at Rs 3,186 crore, compared with Rs 2,742 crore a year ago.