The Delhi bench has reached a procedural resolution regarding Apple's India App Store case.

      An order issued on Saturday instructs Apple to provide financial data to India's competition regulator, while also directing the regulator not to make a final decision before July 15. The Delhi High Court instructed Apple over the weekend to 'fully cooperate' with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in its ongoing antitrust investigation into the App Store. In the same order posted on the court's website, the bench advised the CCI not to issue a final ruling before July 15. Apple had sought to halt the investigation entirely while contesting India's penalty-calculation regulations but was not granted that request.

      The CCI's investigation, stemming from a 2021 complaint by Match Group and several Indian startups, concluded in 2024 that Apple had misused its dominant position in the iPhone apps market by mandating developers to utilize its proprietary in-app payment system. Since then, the regulator has been requesting Apple’s financial information for penalty determination, but Apple has resisted, arguing that the 2024 amendment to the Competition Act, which allows the regulator to impose fines based on global rather than domestic revenue, is currently contested in a separate challenge.

      The order issued on Saturday represents a procedural compromise between the two positions. Apple is required to provide the information requested by the CCI, while the CCI is barred from using that data to issue a final ruling until at least mid-July, thus allowing time for Apple's challenge regarding the penalty laws to progress through the courts simultaneously. The final hearing on the core issue was already scheduled for May 21, just three days after the court's posting; the validity of that date is now uncertain, given the order's implications for procedural timelines.

      The figure associated with this case is $38 billion, which is the maximum potential penalty that the CCI could impose based on the global turnover approach. Apple has characterized this amount as the 'world's largest' antitrust fine it could face, a description that the regulator has not disputed in writing. Whether the final penalty approaches this amount remains dependent on several unresolved legal questions, which the order has ensured will not be addressed before summer.

      Apple's business in India has been expanding rapidly, outpacing most other major markets. According to Counterpoint Research, the iPhone's market share has risen to 9% from 4% two years ago, and India now contributes about a quarter of Apple’s worldwide iPhone production, with approximately 55 million units assembled there in 2025. The CCI investigation is occurring in a country that is currently Apple's most significant growth market and a crucial part of its supply chain.

      Apple has accused the CCI of overstepping its authority by demanding financial information before the basic penalty-calculation regulations are resolved. In contrast, the CCI has accused Apple of delaying the process. The Delhi High Court, by mandating cooperation but preventing a final ruling, has refrained from wholly siding with either characterization. This careful approach aligns with what MediaNama has characterized as a deliberate reluctance within the Indian judiciary to allow the case to be dismissed on procedural grounds or pre-judged on its substance.

      The most relevant parallel is with the European situation. In April 2025, the European Commission imposed a €500 million fine on Apple for similar anti-steering practices in the App Store. This fine has been appealed, and a new tiered fee structure has since been implemented in the EU alongside broader changes mandated by the Digital Markets Act.

      India has now become the second major jurisdiction to determine, based on substantive issues, that Apple's payment system policies represent an abuse of its dominant position. Although the EU's penalty was smaller, the Indian penalty framework, which allows for global revenue calculations, has a significantly higher potential limit. Apple did not respond to requests for comments, nor did the CCI provide public commentary on the Saturday order.

      In the timeframe leading up to July 15, three visible developments are expected: Apple’s separate challenge regarding the penalty-calculation amendment will progress through the courts, the CCI will continue to gather the requested financial information, and the May 21 hearing date will either be confirmed or rescheduled. The case is not any closer to resolution this week than it was last week; however, according to the order's wording, it is nearer to a procedural framework that could facilitate a resolution.