The Delhi bench has reached a procedural compromise in Apple's India App Store case.

      An order issued on Saturday instructs Apple to provide financial information to India’s competition regulator while also directing the regulator not to render a final decision prior to 15 July.

      Over the weekend, the Delhi High Court mandated that Apple must 'fully cooperate' with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in its ongoing antitrust inquiry into the App Store. In the same order made public on the court's website on Saturday, the bench requested that the CCI refrain from making a final ruling until after 15 July. Apple had sought to suspend the investigation entirely while contesting India's penalty-calculation rules, but this request was denied.

      The CCI’s investigation, which stemmed from a 2021 complaint joined by Match Group and several Indian startups, determined in 2024 that Apple had abused its dominant market position in iPhone applications by enforcing the use of its proprietary in-app payment system by developers. Since then, the regulator has been pursuing Apple’s financial details for penalty assessment, but Apple has resisted due to a 2024 amendment to the Competition Act, allowing fines based on global rather than domestic revenue, which Apple is challenging separately.

      The order from Saturday represents a procedural compromise between these two positions. Apple is required to comply with the CCI’s requests; however, the CCI cannot utilize that information for a final ruling until at least mid-July, thus giving time for Apple’s challenge regarding the penalty laws to progress through the courts.

      A final hearing on the substantive issues is already scheduled for 21 May, just three days from the court's posting; whether that date holds is uncertain, given that the order’s wording has extended the procedural deadline.

      The figure mentioned in this case is $38 billion, representing the maximum penalty the CCI could impose if it applied the global turnover formula. Apple has characterized this amount as the 'world’s largest' antitrust fine it could face, and the CCI has not disputed this portrayal in writing. The extent of the eventual penalty will depend on a set of unresolved legal concerns, which Saturday’s order ensures will not be addressed before the summer.

      Apple’s business in India has been growing rapidly compared to other major markets, with iPhone market share now at 9%, up from 4% two years ago, according to Counterpoint Research. In 2025, India contributed to about a quarter of Apple’s global iPhone production, having assembled approximately 55 million units there.

      The CCI investigation is occurring within the context of India being Apple's most crucial growth market and a significant component of its supply chain. Apple has accused the CCI of overstepping its authority by seeking financial information before the underlying penalty-calculation law is resolved, while the CCI has accused Apple of delaying the process.

      By ordering cooperation while preventing a final ruling, the Delhi High Court has avoided taking a definitive stance on either accusation. The court’s approach aligns with what MediaNama has described as a cautious attitude from Indian judiciary to ensure the case is not dismissed on procedural grounds or prejudged on substantive issues.

      The most relevant parallel is with the European situation. In April 2025, the European Commission fined Apple €500 million for similar anti-steering restrictions in the App Store. This fine is currently under appeal, and a new layered fee structure has since been implemented in the EU, alongside a broader set of Apple changes compelled by the Digital Markets Act.

      India is now the second major jurisdiction to conclude, on substantive grounds, that Apple's payment system policies represent an abuse of dominance. The EU's penalty was smaller, while the Indian penalty framework allows for a significantly higher ceiling due to the consideration of global turnover.

      Apple did not respond to a request for comments, and the CCI has not publicly addressed the Saturday order. Leading up to 15 July, three key developments will occur: Apple’s separate challenge to the penalty-calculation amendment will move through the courts, the CCI will persist in collecting the requested financial information, and the 21 May hearing date will either be confirmed or rescheduled.

      The situation this week remains as unresolved as it was the previous week. According to the order’s wording, it is simply closer to establishing a procedural framework that could lead to a resolution.