On January 22, Reuters reported that Apple has asked an Indian court to prevent the country’s antitrust regulators from accessing its global financial records during an investigation into App Store policies, as the company challenges the validity of the relevant laws, court documents show.
iPhone at Apple retail store in Bangalore
Apple has launched a high-stakes legal battle with the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The committee's investigation accused Apple of abusing its App Store market position. Apple has denied the accusations.
Apple said it feared it could face fines of up to $38 billion if regulators calculated fines based on its global sales. Apple has challenged the 2024 fine rules in Indian courts, and the case is still pending.
Despite this, the Competition Commission of India continued to press forward with its investigation and passed a unilateral order on December 31 last year requiring Apple to provide financial data, according to a non-public legal document filed by Apple on January 15. Apple has now asked a Delhi High Court judge to direct the committee not to take action against the company at this stage and put the entire investigation on hold.
Apple argued that being forced to comply with the directive at this point would make its core legal challenge against India's fine rules moot. The Competition Commission of India argued that the rules were necessary to deter violations by multinational companies.
The Delhi High Court is scheduled to hear the case on January 27. As of press time, Apple and the Competition Commission of India have not commented on this.