The Delhi High Court on Friday asked the Competition Commission of India (CCI) not to issue any final order in its investigation against Apple over its App Store payment policies until July 15.
A bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia held that it had issued notice in Apple’s petition challenging the statutory provision that enables the CCI to impose penalties of up to 10% of the global turnover of a wrongdoing company when something is found to be “substantial” and said passing a final order could create complications.
“We have issued notice only after finding something significant in the matter…. Don’t make this petition frivolous… Proceed, but do not take a final order… We will decide the case, you can go ahead with the proceedings but you will not take a final decision. It is only after the petition has been filed and we have found something significant that we have issued notice,” the bench told CCI lawyer Balbir Singh.
She added, “What will happen within a month? We are not stopping your procedures. We are just saying do not issue orders, otherwise this will create complications…”
The court also asked Apple to cooperate with the CCI investigation.
“We also direct that in the proceedings the petitioner must cooperate fully,” the court said.
The direction came after Apple’s counsel, AM Singhvi, informed the court that though its plea was listed for hearing on July 15, the CCI had issued a notice scheduling the final hearing on May 21. Singhvi sought to adjourn the proceedings before the regulator and prevent it from taking coercive action, contending that the continuation of the hearing may render her pending petition futile.
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CCI’s attorney, Balbir Singh, initially opposed the petition, noting that the hearing was not scheduled out of the blue and that Apple had requested an extension on nine occasions to provide information. However, the regulator later agreed that although it would continue with the hearing on May 21, no final order would be passed until July 15.
The CCI in 2021 initiated an investigation against Apple from complaints filed between 2021 and 2022 by NGOs, Indian startups, and Match Group (owner of Tinder, Hinge, and OkCupid), alleging that the company abused its dominant position by requiring developers to use its in-app payment system and pay commissions of up to 30%. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry had directed Apple in December 2024 to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry on March 3, 2025, and issued an order directing the company to submit audited financial statements for fiscal years 2022, 2023 and 2024 in relation to the turnover regulations and sanctions guidelines.
The Act, Section 27(b) of the Competition Act (the Act), as amended in 2023, along with the Competition Commission of India (Determination of Financial Penalties) Guidelines 2024, enables the BCCI to impose sanctions on companies engaging in anti-competitive agreements or abuse of dominance.
The penalty may extend to up to 10% of the average turnover or income in the previous three financial years. Under Explanation 2 to Section 27(b), “sales volume” is defined as the global sales volume earned from all of an organization’s products and services.
Apple also asserted in its petition that the law overruled the Supreme Court’s 2017 ruling in the Excel Crop Care case, where the court interpreted sales volume under the penalty provisions of the Competition Act to mean the relevant sales volume, i.e. the sales volume of the products or services that were the subject of the infringement. The Court also ruled that using the relevant turnover rate as an appropriate measure would be consistent with the purpose of this provision, as it ensures that the public interest as well as the interest of the national economy are met.
