New Delhi. Delhi High Court on Monday issued notice on the petition of American tech company Apple. Apple has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court against the implementation of the new penalty structure by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). CCI, in its reply filed in the Delhi High Court, alleged that Apple has tried to postpone the hearing of the case by filing the petition. Under antitrust, CCI is investigating whether Apple has abused its hold in the app distribution market in India.
Apple has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court because the government has changed the rules for imposing penalties on companies committing misconduct. Under the rules changed in the year 2024, CCI has got the right to impose penalty on the worldwide earnings of the company guilty of misuse instead of the earnings in India. This will cause problems for Apple. Because if found guilty he will have to pay a huge penalty. Whereas, if the income basis is applicable in India, he will have to pay less penalty. Tech company Apple, in a petition filed in the Delhi High Court, has termed the new rules of CCI as unfair and unconstitutional. It has also been argued that the penalty under the new rule is not related to activities in India.
Apple has also said in the petition filed in the Delhi High Court that if the CCI gives a verdict against it, it may have to pay a fine of up to $38 billion. CCI had started antitrust investigation against Apple in 2022. After complaints from many Indian startups, CCI instituted an investigation against Apple. Apple is accused of harming competition through its App Store policy. In fact, Apple considers it necessary to use its in-app payment system. CCI has investigated this allegation and prepared a report, but has not yet decided on imposing a fine on Apple.