Anti-Trust Law

Hyderabad: Apple has accused investigators at the Competition Commission of India (CCI) of lifting its rivals' claims wholesale and passing them off as independent findings, and has called for the antitrust conclusions against it to be quashed, according to regulatory documents, Reuters reported on Monday, June 29. The June 25 submission marks the sharpest escalation yet in Apple's battle with the CCI, where Tinder-owner Match Group and several Indian startups are among the complainants. CCI investigators had concluded in a 2024 private report that Apple engaged in "abusive conduct" on its iOS App Store platform and wrongly mandated the use of its own payment system. Apple has denied the allegations. In its submission, the company argued it was a "minuscule player" with under six per cent of India's smartphone market and that the investigation's conclusions were built on rivals' submissions rather than the CCI's own independent analysis. 'Copy-pasting' charge Apple drew up comparative tables in its submission to argue that the CCI's Director General had not conducted any independent verification and had instead reproduced, sometimes verbatim, submissions from opponents including Match, Walmart's Indian payments app PhonePe and homegrown rival Paytm, Reuters reported. Apple also alleged the investigation report had replicated a graphic on global consumer spending on mobile apps from a 2024 European Union ruling against the company, despite materially different market conditions in India. A Reuters review of footnotes in both documents found they referenced the same data from Statista, an online research platform. Apple warned that being forced to alter its App Store model could disrupt its integrated business structure and deter investment in India's digital economy. What's at stake The CCI has accused Apple of stalling the case for over two years by withholding responses to investigation findings and pursuing a separate legal challenge to India's antitrust penalty law, which allows fines of up to 10 per cent of a company's turnover over the previous three years. Any penalty could potentially run into millions of dollars, though the CCI has not specified which Apple revenues would be factored in. Apple's submissions show it has provided its India turnover figures for fiscal years 2022 to 2024, as required. The company is also contesting the fact that it was not given a single opportunity to record its statements or provide oral evidence during the probe, a right it says was extended to Google during its Android antitrust case. The case comes at a sensitive moment. Apple is aggressively expanding iPhone manufacturing in India as it diversifies away from China. The country is expected to account for 26 per cent of global iPhone production in 2026, up from six per cent four years ago, according to Counterpoint Research. Apple said that if penalties were to be considered, its "unblemished record" and iPhone exports worth USD 51 billion from India over the past five years should be treated as mitigating factors. A closed-door hearing with all parties is scheduled before senior CCI officials on July 21. Similar arguments by large technology companies have not found favour with the CCI in the past. Google raised comparable concerns during its Android antitrust case in 2023 but was ultimately required to change how it promoted its operating system in India.

Anti-Trust Law

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