Apple Faces $38B India Penalty Over App Store Antitrust Probe
India's CCI demands Apple's global financials for App Store probe, risking $38B penalty. Asia's regulators intensify Big Tech scrutiny after Korea, Japan precedents.
Apple has asked a Delhi High Court to block India's Competition Commission from demanding its global financial records while the tech giant challenges the country's antitrust penalty rules. The case, scheduled for hearing on January 27, 2026, could result in fines reaching $38 billion if regulators calculate penalties based on Apple's worldwide revenues rather than India-specific operations.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) issued a December 31, 2025 order requiring Apple to submit global financial data as part of an ongoing investigation into the company's App Store policies. Apple argues that complying now would undermine its legal challenge against India's 2024 penalty rules, which allow fines up to 10% of a company's global turnover.
Antitrust Investigation Targets App Store Dominance
The CCI probe began following 2022 complaints from Match Group (owner of Tinder) and Indian startups alleging Apple abused its market position by forcing developers to use its proprietary payment system. A 2024 investigative report confirmed Apple engaged in "abusive conduct" through its control of the iOS app marketplace.
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Apple denies the allegations but has rejected multiple extension requests from October 2024 through January 2026. The CCI defended its penalty framework as necessary to discourage violations by multinational corporations operating in India's rapidly expanding digital economy.
The potential $38 billion exposure represents one of the largest antitrust penalties ever proposed in Asia. India's Competition Act permits regulators to base fines on companies' total global revenues, a calculation method that dramatically increases financial risk for international tech platforms.
Regional Regulatory Momentum Builds Against Big Tech
India's aggressive stance reflects broader trends across Asian markets. South Korea enacted the 2021 Telecommunication Business Act, mandating alternative app payment systems and forcing Apple and Google to reduce commissions by 30%. Courts upheld those regulations in 2024.
Japan's Fair Trade Commission issued 2022 orders requiring Apple to allow third-party reader apps to link to external websites for payments. Apple implemented those changes across iOS 16 updates in 2023.
Google faced similar scrutiny in India, receiving a $113 million fine in 2022 for Play Store dominance and being forced to implement alternative billing systems in 2023. These precedents establish a pattern of Asian regulators prioritizing domestic developer protection over multinational platform control.
Competition enforcement across the Asia-Pacific region has intensified significantly, with cartel fines increasing fivefold between 2020 and 2023. Indonesia launched digital services probes in 2025, while Thailand proposed a Platform Economy Act targeting foreign tech companies.
Market Context Complicates Apple's Defense
The case unfolds as Apple exported $50 billion worth of iPhones from India between 2022 and 2024, making the country a critical manufacturing hub. However, approximately 73% of India's 750 million smartphone users operate Android devices, complicating Apple's arguments about market dominance in the broader mobile ecosystem.
India's digital economy is projected to reach $1 trillion by 2025, making regulatory compliance increasingly critical for international platforms. The CCI's extraterritorial enforcement approach through global turnover calculations creates precedents that could influence antitrust frameworks across emerging Asian markets.
The January 27 hearing will determine whether Apple must submit financial records immediately or can delay compliance pending resolution of its constitutional challenge. Neither Apple nor the CCI responded to requests for comment on the pending litigation.
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