Apple Inc. (AAPL) is pushing back hard against India's new antitrust penalty framework, and the stakes couldn't be higher. According to a report published Wednesday, the tech giant is contesting a law that could expose it to fines reaching $38 billion.
This marks the first legal challenge to India's 2024 law, which allows the Competition Commission of India to calculate penalties based on a company's global turnover rather than just its India business. That's a massive shift in how antitrust enforcement works, and Apple isn't taking it lightly.
A 545-Page Legal Pushback
In a detailed 545-page filing to the Delhi High Court, Apple argues that potential penalties—capped at 10% of its average global revenue from 2022 to 2024—would be "grossly disproportionate" and "unjust." The company is asking judges to declare the entire 2024 law illegal, calling it arbitrary and unconstitutional.
What's particularly concerning to Apple is that Indian regulators have already used the new rules retroactively. Earlier this month, the CCI applied the law to conduct that occurred a decade earlier in a separate case. Apple says this precedent leaves it "no choice but to" challenge the law now, before facing a similar retroactive penalty.
The Bigger Picture
This legal fight doesn't exist in a vacuum. Since 2022, Apple has been under CCI scrutiny following complaints from Match Group (MTCH)—the company behind Tinder—and Indian startups about App Store restrictions and in-app payment fees that run as high as 30%. Last year, CCI investigators concluded that Apple engaged in "abusive conduct," though no penalty has been announced yet.
Apple denies any wrongdoing and maintains it's a relatively small player in India compared to Google's Android ecosystem. Still, its user base in the country has been steadily growing, making India an increasingly important market for the iPhone maker—and one where regulatory battles are getting more intense.
