Apple is challenging India’s new antitrust penalty law under which the tech giant could potentially face a fine of up to $38 billion, a court filing at the Delhi High Court, seen by Reuters, shows.
The challenge is the first against India’s antitrust penalty law that allows the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to use global turnover when calculating the penalties it imposes on companies for abusing their market dominance.
From Reuters: The company is asking judges to declare as illegal the 2024 law that allowed the CCI (Competition Commission of India) to use global turnover, not just that in India, when calculating penalties, according to its 545-page court filing, which is not public.
Apple’s ‘maximum penalty exposure’ at the rate of 10% of its average global turnover derived from all of its services globally for three fiscal years to 2024 could be around $38 billion, it said in the filing.
The Match Group — provider of dating products and services, including popular apps like Tinder, Match.com, Hinge, and OkCupid — and smaller developers claim Apple’s in-app payment rules harm competition. They argue, as reported by Reuters, that all transactions must go through Apple’s system, with fees reaching 30%. And a group called “Together We Fight Society” (TWFS) complained to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in 2021 about Apple’s App Store rules and fees.
In July 2024, the CCI made a preliminary conclusion that Apple had abused its position of power over digital services and products. In November 2024 the regulatory agency turned down a request from Apple to put a hold on an investigation report that found the company breached competition laws.
The tech giant has denied wrongdoing saying it was a small player in India where phones that use Google’s Android system are dominant. Apple has asked for the investigative report to be put on hold, but was denied.
Article provided with permission from AppleWorld.Today
