Apple agrees to submit India financials to CCI

The iPhone accounts for 9% ​of India’s smartphone market, from nearly 2% five years ago, according to Counterpoint Research data

Apple has agreed to submit the financials of its India ‌business to the country’s antitrust body as part of an investigation that found the U.S. firm abused its market position, taking the long-delayed case a step closer to a potential penalty decision, an agency order shows.

The case is Apple’s most high-profile regulatory issue in India, a key growth ​market where it has rapidly expanded iPhone production as it diversifies beyond China. The iPhone accounts for 9% ​of India’s smartphone market, from nearly 2% five years ago, according to Counterpoint Research data.

Apple has ​long argued the case should be paused because it is separately seeking to quash India’s new antitrust penalty law ​that empowers the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to penalise companies on the basis of their international, not just Indian, turnover. Apple says the CCI had asked ‌for worldwide ⁠financial details, which could lead to a fine of up to $38 billion.

The CCI has repeatedly disagreed with that position, saying it only needed Apple’s India financials to start with and the U.S. company was trying to delay the case through a parallel court appeal. A judge last month told Apple to “cooperate”.

The case against Apple started in 2021 and includes a non-profit group, Tinder-owner Match and a group of Indian startups called the Alliance ​of Digital India Foundation (ADIF).

The groups brought the case amid concerns about Apple’s proprietary in-app billing ​system, among other ⁠issues.

During the May 21 hearing, ADIF urged the CCI against further delays, the order showed.

Apple has also been asked to submit its objections, if any, to the investigation findings, which say Apple’s App Store is “an unavoidable trading partner” for app makers, who were not ⁠permitted to ​use any third-party payment service for in-app purchases.

Apple says it is a ​small player in India where phones that use Google’s Android system are dominant.

In 2022, the Competition Commission of India slapped a fine of $113 million on Google for using its “dominant ​position” to force app developers to use its in-app payment system.