CCI Rejects Apple’s Plea To Put Antitrust Report On Hold

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has reportedly put iPhone maker Apple’s request to put a hold on a probe report which found the company allegedly breached competition laws, allowing the case to continue.

An internal order from the regulator, seen by Reuters, revealed that Apple had alleged in November that the main complainant, the Indian non-profit Together We Fight Society (TWFS), failed to comply with directives to ensure that earlier investigation reports were destroyed.

Apple asked the CCI “to take action against TWFS for non-compliance with its order” and “to withhold the revised” report, the CCI order, dated November 13, as seen by Reuters.

“Apple’s request to hold the investigation report in abeyance was deemed untenable,” the CCI said in the order.

In August, the CCI ordered a recall of investigation reports after Apple claimed the watchdog had disclosed commercial secrets to competitors, including Tinder-owner Match, in a case dating back to 2021. 

The antitrust body had asked the parties to return the reports and destroy any copies, after which it issued new reports.

The investigation found that Apple exploited its dominant position in the app store market on its iOS operating system, to the detriment of app developers, users, and other payment processors.

However, Apple has denied wrongdoing and said it is a small player in India where phones that use Google’s Android system are dominant.

The CCI internal order also revealed that Apple has been asked to submit its audited financial statements for fiscal years 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24, as part of regulatory guidelines to determine potential monetary penalties in the case. Senior officials at the CCI will review the investigation report and issue a final ruling on the matter.

At the heart of the matter is three-year long CCI probe into allegations of Apple abusing its dominant position in the app marketplace space and forcing developers to use its in-app payments system that charges commissions up to 30%.

Earlier this year, reports surfaced that the watchdog, in an internal report, found the company guilty of flouting competition laws and implementing unfair trade practices. 

With this, Apple has become the latest big tech major to come under the radar of CCI. In 2022, CCI imposed a penalty of INR 936.44 Cr on Google for abusing its dominant position with respect to its Play Store policies.