Apple May Get into Trouble in India, CCI in Final Phase if Investigation Against Company

Competition Commission of India (CCI) may soon take action against American devices maker Apple for unfair business practices in India. Before the final hearing in this case, CCI has agreed to provide confidential information to the company. In the findings of its investigation, CCI had accused the company of misusing its dominant position.

An official source with knowledge of this matter told NDTV Profit that if the allegations against Apple are proved, a penalty can be imposed on the company. last week CCI had agreed to create a blanket of confidentiality before the final hearing of the case. In this, selected parties including Apple will get access to confidential information. After receiving this information, Apple may have to file a reply on the investigation report of this matter. In this, the company may be given a time limit of four weeks to obtain information and file the reply.

This investigation against Apple was started about four years ago. This was related to the company’s alleged misuse of its dominant position in the apps market. Apple was accused of forcing developers to use its proprietary in-app purchase system due to its strong position in the apps market. For this, up to 30 percent fee was being charged from the developers.

In August this year, CCI, on the company’s request, had asked all its rivals to return the report of this investigation. However, this order did not specify which confidential information Apple was concerned about. A source with knowledge of the matter had said that Apple is worried about the disclosure of revenue and market share figures of its App Store in the country. Reuters reported in July that two reports by the CCI’s investigation unit, due in 2022 and 2024, had found that Apple had abused its strong market position in app stores on its iOS operating system.