Apple has filed a lawsuit in the Delhi High Court, challenging India's newly revised antitrust fines law to avoid a potential fine of up to $38 billion (approximately 269.469 billion yuan), according to a Reuters report on November 27. Under the new law, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) can calculate fines based on a company's total global revenue, not just its revenue in India. Apple estimates that a fine of 10% of its average global service revenue for fiscal years 2022-2024 would amount to $38 billion.
This lawsuit comes against a backdrop of multiple antitrust investigations against Apple in India and globally. Since 2022, several Indian startups, including Match Group (Tinder's parent company), have complained about "abuse" by Apple in the iOS app store, such as forcing users to use the in-app purchase system and charging a 30% commission, and prohibiting third-party payments. Although Apple denies the allegations, the CCI preliminarily determined that Apple was in violation last year, but a final ruling has not yet been made.
In its lawsuit, Apple called the new bill "arbitrary, unconstitutional, and highly disproportionate," pointing to the CCI's first use of the bill on November 10 to retroactively penalize a company for violations committed a decade ago, forcing Apple to "immediately file a constitutional challenge." The company emphasized that fines should be based solely on revenue from the illegal business within India, not global turnover. For example, it would be unreasonable for a merchant to be penalized for a violation in its toy business (which generated only 100 rupees in revenue) but for its stationery business (which generated 20,000 rupees in total turnover). This legal challenge not only concerns Apple's interests in the Indian market but could also impact the antitrust regulatory framework for global tech giants.
