Apple just escalated its regulatory battle in India, filing a lawsuit against the country's antitrust watchdog over a penalty calculation method that could cost the iPhone maker up to $38 billion. The tech giant is challenging India's Competition Commission for using global turnover to determine fines, calling the approach "unconstitutional" and "grossly disproportionate" as the regulator investigates Apple's App Store practices.
Apple just threw down the gauntlet in one of its most expensive regulatory fights yet. The company filed a case in Delhi High Court challenging India's Competition Commission over a penalty calculation method that treats Apple's massive global revenue as fair game for fines - potentially exposing the iPhone maker to a staggering $38 billion hit.
The lawsuit targets India's antitrust law that allows the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to base penalties on worldwide turnover rather than just local revenue. Apple's legal team argues this approach is "unconstitutional, grossly disproportionate, unjust," according to Reuters reporting on the court filing.
The timing isn't coincidental. Apple's legal challenge comes as the CCI wraps up a years-long investigation into the company's App Store practices, sparked by complaints from an alliance of Indian startups and Match Group, which owns Tinder. These companies accuse Apple of "abusive conduct" - specifically forcing developers to pay steep commissions for in-app purchases through Apple's mandatory payment system.
Apple has consistently denied these charges, but the CCI already signaled where this is heading. In a December 2021 preliminary order, the commission stated its "prima facie view" that Apple's mandatory in-app purchase system restricts developers' payment processing choices. That early ruling set the stage for what could become one of the largest antitrust fines in tech history.
The $38 billion figure isn't pulled from thin air - it reflects how India calculates penalties based on a percentage of global revenue rather than local market impact. For Apple, with annual revenues exceeding $380 billion worldwide, even a 10% penalty would eclipse most countries' entire GDP. The company clearly sees this as a dangerous precedent that other regulators might follow.
What makes this particularly interesting is the backdrop of Apple's India success story. The company just posted record quarterly shipments of 5 million iPhones in Q3 2025, according to IDC data. Navkendar Singh, associate vice president with IDC India, told that Apple could sell 15 million iPhones this year and break into India's top five smartphone rankings.
