By Aditya Kalra
NEW DELHI, June 29 (Reuters) – Apple has accused Indian antitrust investigators of “copy-pasting” its rivals’ claims and failing to properly conduct its own investigation in concluding the U.S. tech giant breached competition laws, calling for the findings to be quashed, regulatory papers reviewed by Reuters showed.
The June 25 Apple submission, being reported for the first time, marks the sharpest escalation yet in Apple’s fight with the Competition Commission of India (CCI), where Tinder-owner Match and Indian startups are among its opponents.
In 2024, CCI investigators privately issued a report saying Apple engaged in “abusive conduct” on the apps platform of its iOS operating system, and wrongly mandated the use of its payment system.
Apple has denied the allegations. It said in its submission that it was a “minuscule player” with an under 6% share of India’s smartphone market, and the investigation conclusions were built on rivals’ claims rather than on the CCI’s independent analysis.
Apple said any “forced alterations to Apple’s carefully designed App Store could disrupt its integrated business model,” and argued against any penalties and behavioural remedies that could force it to change its approach.
“The imposition of remedies would create regulatory uncertainty and could deter investments in India’s digital economy,” the company added.
The CCI and its head of investigations did not respond to Reuters queries. Apple also did not respond to requests for comment.
Similar arguments by other big companies have failed to sway the CCI. In 2023, Alphabet’s Google argued in its antitrust case that CCI’s order risked stalling its growth, but the company was later forced to make changes to the way it promoted its Android system, which dominates the Indian smartphone market.
Senior officials from the CCI are due to hold a closed-door hearing with all parties in the case on July 21.
‘COPY-PASTING’ ALLEGATIONS
In its submission, Apple drew up tables to argue the CCI investigation team had not done its own analysis and instead indulged in “copy-pasting” many submissions from opponents in the case such as Match, Walmart’s Indian payments app, PhonePe, and Indian rival Paytm.
“The DG (Director General) made no effort whatsoever to independently verify or critically assess these statements, often parroting them verbatim,” Apple said.
Match, Paytm and PhonePe did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Apple also said the CCI investigation reports “blindly replicated” a graphic on worldwide consumer spending on mobile apps and games from an EU ruling against Apple in 2024, even though India faced different market conditions.
A Reuters review of footnotes of the EU order and Indian investigation report showed both referenced data from Statista, an online research website.
In 2023, Google also argued Indian investigators copied parts of a European ruling. “We have not cut, copy and pasted,” CCI said at the time.
WATCHDOG SAYS APPLE STALLING CASE
Apple is facing antitrust challenges around the world, from Europe to the United States.
The Indian case, however, is progressing at a time when Apple faces many supply chain issues, including a data breach at its Indian contract manufacturer Tata.
The watchdog has accused Apple of stalling the case for more than two years by not submitting responses to the investigation findings and pursuing a parallel challenge to India’s antitrust penalty law, which allows for potential fines of up to 10% of company turnover in the previous three years. The CCI has not said which Apple revenues might be considered but any fine could potentially run into millions of dollars.
Apple submissions show it has submitted the “relevant turnover of Apple in India” for fiscal years 2022-24 as required — typically used by the watchdog for penalty calculations.
In the submissions, Apple is also arguing officials failed to grant the tech firm “a single opportunity to record its statements and provide oral evidence” during the probe.
Google was provided several opportunities to defend itself and explain its business model during its Android case, according to the Apple submission.
“While desirable, the CCI’s investigation team is under no legal obligation to give an oral hearing if it feels it has conclusive evidence,” said Gautam Shahi, an Indian antitrust lawyer at Dua Associates.
“CCI’s members will now decide if Apple should have been given that opportunity.”
As Apple diversifies iPhone manufacturing beyond China, India is a key market — the country is set to make 26% of the world’s iPhones in 2026, up from 6% four years ago, according to Counterpoint Research.
If CCI does consider penalties, Apple said mitigating factors should be considered, including its “unblemished record” and the fact that it has exported iPhones worth $51 billion from India over the past five years.
(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Kate Mayberry)