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India Defends Global Turnover-Based Fines as Apple Challenges Antitrust Law

By  |  January 8, 2026

India’s antitrust regulator has told a court that calculating penalties based on a company’s worldwide revenue is necessary to effectively deter misconduct by large multinational corporations, according to Reuters.

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    The stance was laid out in a court filing by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) as it opposed a legal challenge brought by Apple against a 2024 amendment to India’s competition law. Apple approached the courts in November, asking judges in New Delhi to strike down the measure, which allows fines to be calculated using a company’s global turnover rather than only its India-specific revenue, per Reuters.

    The case is being closely watched because the law could affect other international companies under antitrust scrutiny in India, including Pernod Ricard, Publicis and Amazon, according to Reuters. In a December 15 filing that is not public, the CCI argued that the amendment brings India in line with global standards. The regulator said the law “aligns Indian competition law enforcement with established international practice.”

    The CCI further argued that limiting penalties to domestic turnover, particularly for global digital firms, weakens enforcement. “Weighing only India-specific turnover as the basis for the calculation of penalties, especially in the case of global digital firms, fails to deter the impugned behaviour,” the watchdog said in its filing seen by Reuters. It added: “This approach ensures that penalties retain real deterrent value in complex, digital and cross-border markets, rather than becoming nominal or easily absorbable for large multinational players.”

    Read more: Apple Disputes India’s New Antitrust Penalty Rules in Court

    Apple and the CCI did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters on the filing.

    Apple has argued in court that the law, which mirrors approaches used in the European Union, risks imposing disproportionate penalties for violations that occur solely within India, according to Reuters. The company has said it could face fines of up to $38 billion if global turnover is used as the basis for penalties, following a CCI investigation that concluded Apple abused its dominant position in its app store. Apple has denied the allegations.

    In a separate dispute, Apple has accused the CCI of applying the amended law retrospectively, something the company says is unlawful. The regulator rejected that claim, telling the court that it has always had the authority to impose fines of up to 10% of a company’s turnover and that the recent changes only clarified how turnover should be defined. “Clarificatory provisions operate retrospectively as they explain the true intent of the legislature,” the CCI said, according to Reuters.

    The CCI also accused Apple of attempting to mislead the court, stating that despite having the authority to seek global revenue figures, it had requested only “India-specific financial details” from the company. Apple disputes that position, arguing in its own filing that the information sought under the revised framework could still expose it to substantially higher penalties, per Reuters.

    The Delhi High Court is scheduled to hear Apple’s challenge to the law on January 27, according to Reuters.

    Source: Reuters