By Aditya Kalra
NEW DELHI, June 3 (Reuters) - Apple has agreed to submit the financials of its India business to the country's antitrust body as part of an investigation that found the U.S. firm abused its market position, taking the long-delayed case a step closer to a potential penalty decision, an agency order shows.
The case is Apple's most high-profile regulatory headache in India, a key growth market where it has rapidly expanded iPhone production as it diversifies beyond China. The iPhone accounts
for 9% of India's smartphone market, from about 2% five years ago, according to Counterpoint Research data.
A confidential Competition Commission of India (CCI) order, reviewed by Reuters, showed Apple last month agreed to supply its India financials - typically needed by the watchdog for penalty calculations.
Apple's lawyer asked the CCI at a May 21 hearing for a "final extension" until June 25 to file its "India-specific financial information", and "the commission considered the request and granted" it, the order noted.
A CCI investigation found in 2024 that Apple had exploited its dominant position in the iPhone apps market.
Apple denied wrongdoing and said it would contest the findings. It also refused to supply details of its finances.
Apple has long argued the case should be paused because it it is separately seeking to quash India's new antitrust penalty law that empowers the CCI to penalise companies on the basis of their global, not just Indian, turnover. Apple says the CCI had asked for global financial details, which could lead to a fine of up to $38 billion.
The CCI has repeatedly disagreed with that position, saying it only needed Apple's India financials to start with and the U.S. giant was trying to delay the case through a parallel court challenge. A judge last month told Apple to "cooperate".
Reuters is the first to report Apple's changed position in the case. Apple did not respond to Reuters queries. The CCI also did not respond to requests for comment.
STARTUPS VS APPLE
The case against Apple started in 2021 and includes a non-profit group, Tinder-owner Match and a group of Indian startups called the Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF).
The groups brought the case amid concerns about Apple's proprietary in-app billing system, among other issues.
During the May 21 hearing, ADIF urged the CCI against further delays, the order showed.
Apple has also been asked to submit its objections, if any, to the investigation findings, which say Apple's App Store is "an unavoidable trading partner" for app makers, who were not permitted to use any third-party payment service for in-app purchases.
Apple says it is a small player in India where phones that use Google's Android system are dominant.
In 2022, the CCI slapped a fine of $113 million on Google for using its "dominant position" to force app developers to use its in-app payment system. Google denied wrongdoing.
(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
