Apple accuses India of 'copy-pasting' rivals' claims in antitrust investigation
29/06/2026 10:49
* Antitrust case is Apple's biggest regulatory headache in
India
* Apple asks for investigation findings to be quashed
* Company says it is a 'minuscule player' in India
* India watchdog probe found Apple engaged in 'abusive
conduct'
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 AAPL.O 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 MTCH.O 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 GOOGL.O 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)
((Email: aditya.kalra@tr.com; X: @adityakalra;))