Apple Takes its Biggest India Legal Swing Yet as Delhi High Court Reviews Global-Turnover Penalty Rule

Image taken from britannica.com

Apple’s long-running friction with India’s competition regulator entered a new phase on Monday, as the Delhi High Court began hearing the tech giant’s challenge to a recent amendment in the Competition Act—one that could dramatically raise the financial stakes in antitrust cases.

The petition, now before a bench led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, questions the legality of allowing the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to calculate penalties based on a company’s global turnover rather than its revenue from India. Apple’s counsel, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, urged the court to grant interim protection, stressing that the company does not want “any coercive steps” while the matter is under judicial review. He highlighted that the CCI has already demanded detailed financial disclosures by December 8 as part of ongoing investigative procedures.

The CCI, however, pushed back sharply. Its counsel argued that Apple’s sudden urgency stems from the ongoing antitrust probe into the App Store’s business practices rather than a genuine constitutional concern. The regulator maintained that large technology firms cannot be allowed to evade meaningful penalties simply because their businesses span continents, pointing out that fines in the range of $200–300 million are not necessarily punitive for global tech majors.

Why Apple Is Fighting This Battle Now

At the heart of Apple’s petition lies a staggering number: $38 billion. That’s roughly 10% of its global turnover—an amount Apple says could theoretically be at risk if the amended penalty calculation is applied to its current App Store investigation in India. With Apple generating around $380 billion annually over the past three financial years, the company argues that penalties based on worldwide revenue are disproportionate and legally unsound.

Apple has been under scrutiny in India since 2022, following complaints from Match Group and several Indian startups accusing the company of anti-competitive conduct in how the App Store handles payments and restricts third-party solutions. Investigators issued a report last year stating that Apple had engaged in abusive practices within the iOS app distribution ecosystem. With the investigation still underway, the amended penalty rule raises the stakes dramatically.

In its filing, Apple asked the High Court to strike down the 2024 amendment entirely, asserting that penalties should only reflect the Indian revenue of the specific business unit found guilty—not the worldwide earnings of the entire corporation. To illustrate its point, Apple compared its situation to a hypothetical scenario where a toy seller is punished on the turnover of an unrelated stationery business simply because both fall under the same corporate umbrella.

Adding to its alarm, Apple pointed out that the CCI has already used the new rule once—on November 10—in a separate, older case, applying it retroactively to conduct that occurred over a decade ago. Apple told the court it now has “no choice” but to challenge the amendment before it finds itself facing a similar retroactive penalty.

The case is poised to become one of the most consequential antitrust battles involving a global tech giant in India, setting the stage for a ruling that could redefine how penalties are administered for multinational corporations operating in the country