Apple has said that it could potentially be fined a massive $38 billion in an antitrust battle taking place in India after it refused to cooperate with the regulator. Yep, that’s billion with a B.
The iPhone maker has persistently refused to submit financial data required by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) after being found guilty of abusing its dominant position in the smartphone market …
The usual Apple antitrust battle, with a twist
Apple has faced antitrust legislation, competition regulator investigations, and lawsuits around the world. All of these essentially come down to the same issue.
Edge cases aside, the only way you can buy an iPhone app in most countries around the world is from the official Apple App Store. The company sets its own commission rates, and developers have no choice but to accept them if they want to offer their apps on iPhone. Many countries have held this to be an abuse of Apple’s dominant position in the market.
Apple argues that it isn’t a dominant player in the smartphone app market as a whole, as Android is a larger segment than iOS. In general, regulators have ruled that iPhone is a large enough market on its own to put Apple in a dominant position. There is, however, a twist in India because Apple’s market share there is still relatively low.
The twist in India
At the time the case began back in 2021, Apple’s share of the Indian smartphone market was just 4%, though it has since doubled to around 9%.
Additionally, the company is challenging the law in court and wants the regulator to suspend enforcement until that case has been heard. For that reason, it has refused to hand over the financial information demanded by the CCI.
Apple faces $38B fine as CCI hardens stance
Reuters reports that the CCI has now said it intends to fast-track its imposition of a fine on the company as Apple is now running out of time to comply with the financial disclosure requirements.
The Competition Commission of India said in an April 8 order that Apple has not submitted details of its financials and its views on the investigation since October 2024 […]
Apple, which denies any wrongdoing in the case, has said it fears it could be fined up to $38 billion if the watchdog uses its global turnover to calculate penalties in the case […] Although the CCI has given Apple two more weeks to file its responses, it has for the first time fixed a final hearing date of May 21.
An antitrust lawyer cited in the piece says that if Apple doesn’t comply with the CCI demand for financial information, it may lose its opportunity to dispute the size of the fine.
9to5Mac’s Take
Since Apple’s global turnover is a matter of public record, it seems a little difficult to understand the position of either side here. Why would India demand this information from Apple, and why would the company refuse to hand over the data?
While the iPhone maker is technically correct that the fine could hit $38 billion, the reality is that many countries around the world have maximum antitrust fines representing a percentage of global turnover, and none of them have yet imposed anything remotely close to this.
- Official Apple Store on Amazon
- Apple’s iPhone cases: iPhone 17 | iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max | iPhone Air
- Wireless CarPlay adapter (2026 update)
- AirTag holders and accessories
- Mac Pro-style Mac mini casing
- NordVPN – privacy-first VPN with no logs and independent audits to verify
Photo by Logan Voss on Unsplash
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments