The Indian antitrust regulator has issued a final warning to Apple (AAPL) that it will proceed in a case as the company has delayed responses to officials for over a year and undermined the probe, Reuters reported, citing a confidential order.
Apple has said it is concerned that it could be fined up to $38B if India’s competition watchdog uses its global turnover calculation for fines, after an investigation found it had abused its position on its app store, the report added.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Seeking Alpha.
Apple, which denies the allegations, has challenged the penalty rules in an Indian court, and the matter is pending, according to a report from November 2025. The challenge is the first against India’s antitrust penalty law that since 2024, enables the Competition Commission of India, or CCI, to use global turnover when calculating fines it imposes on companies for abusing their market dominance.
While the Delhi High Court is still hearing that challenge, a confidential Dec. 31, 2025, order from the CCI shows Apple privately sought to halt the entire case while the penalty‑rule dispute is before the court. The CCI rejected the request, the report added.
The antitrust agency said it asked Apple in October 2024 to submit objections to the probe’s findings and provide financial details used to evaluate fines, but the company has received “repeated extensions” since then, according to the report.
“The Commission is of the considered view that repeated extensions, despite unambiguous directions, undermine procedural discipline and impede the timely conclusion of proceedings,” CCI noted in its order, the report added.
“Such indulgence cannot be continued indefinitely,” said the order, giving Apple a final warning that it will proceed in the case unilaterally if no response is received by next week, the report noted.
A source familiar with the matter told the news agency that Apple views CCI’s December 2025 order as a move to preempt the ongoing court proceedings, and the company was not likely to respond to it before the judges hear it on Jan. 27, the report added.
Since 2022, Tinder-owner Match (MTCH) and Indian startups have been in an antitrust tussle with Apple at the CCI. In July 2024 it was reported that a probe by the CCI allegedly found that Apple exploited its dominant position in the app store market on iOS, engaging “in abusive conduct and practices.”