Apple Could Be Fined Up To $38 Billion By Indian Antitrust Regulator

Apple's refusal to supply financial information to an Indian regulatory agency arsenic portion of an antitrust lawsuit will culminate successful a last proceeding connected May 21, arsenic first reported by Reuters. According to nan Competition Commission of India (CCI), Apple still hasn't submitted accusation astir its financials and its views connected an antitrust investigation that started successful October 2024.

The lawsuit revolves astir nan CCI accusing Apple of exploiting its ascendant position pinch nan App Store, arguing that developers are forced to usage Apple's proprietary strategy for in-app purchases. Apple countered that Android was nan much ascendant smartphone operating strategy successful India and that iPhones held a smaller marketplace stock successful India. However, Apple has slow been gaining momentum pinch its stock of nan Indian smartphone market, hitting 9 percent successful 2025, according to data from Counterpoint Research.

Reuters reported that nan latest CCI bid said that Apple had plentifulness of opportunities to record objections aliases suggestions, but added that nan institution still hadn't submitted nan "requisite financial information," which is utilized to find nan magnitude of a imaginable penalty. Apple based on that nan penalties could beryllium up to $38 cardinal and responded to nan bid by citing a abstracted lawsuit wherever nan tech elephantine challenged nan country's antitrust punishment law.

It's not nan first clip Apple has butted heads pinch nan Indian government, arsenic it antecedently refused to pre-install a state-owned app called Sanchar Saathi onto its smartphones. The Indian authorities later decided to retreat its instruction requiring smartphone makers to instal nan app, but it's overmuch little consenting to budge connected this antitrust case. According to Reuters, nan CCI offered Apple 2 much weeks to record immoderate responses earlier nan last proceeding day adjacent month.