Apple faces India antitrust hearing

India’s competition regulator has set a final hearing for Apple’s antitrust case on May 21 after saying the company did not hand over requested financial data. (moneycontrol.com) The Competition Commission of India said in an April 8 order that Apple had not submitted its financial details or its views on the investigation since October 2024. The regulator said Apple pointed instead to a separate Delhi High Court case challenging India’s penalty framework. (moneycontrol.com) That missing data matters because the regulator uses company financials to calculate fines after finding a breach. Reuters reported Apple asked in March to put the antitrust proceedings “in abeyance” while the High Court hears its challenge, and the Competition Commission rejected that request. (gadgets360.com) The underlying case is about Apple’s control over the iPhone app economy in India. A Competition Commission investigation found in July 2024 that Apple abused its dominant position in the market for app stores on iOS by requiring developers to use its own in-app purchase system. (business-standard.com) Indian regulators are treating that iPhone app market as its own market, not the broader smartphone market where Android is much larger. The 2024 investigation said iOS developers were effectively tied to Apple’s App Store and billing rules if they wanted to reach iPhone users. (channelnewsasia.com) Apple has denied wrongdoing throughout the case. It has argued that it is a small player in India because phones running Google’s Android system dominate the country’s overall handset market. (business-standard.com) The fight has also widened into a dispute over how India can punish companies it finds in violation. Apple has said it could face a fine of up to $38 billion if the regulator calculates penalties on global turnover rather than only India revenue. (gadgets360.com) India matters more to Apple than it did a few years ago. Reuters reported Apple’s iPhone share of India’s smartphone market reached 9% in 2026, up from 4% two years earlier, as the company expanded sales and manufacturing in the country. (moneycontrol.com) Neither Apple nor the Competition Commission responded to Reuters on Monday. The next marker in the case is now the May 21 hearing, where the regulator is expected to move closer to a penalty decision. (moneycontrol.com)