Apple warned by India’s competition watchdog over its attempts to delay antitrust investigation | Infinium-tech

India’s competition watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), has issued a final warning to Apple over its efforts to delay the ongoing antitrust investigation scheduled to begin in 2021. reuters Report.

Apple has been involved in an antitrust case in India since 2021 over in-app payment issues, and as a part of that ongoing legal battle, the Cupertino-based tech giant faces a potential fine of $38 billion.

Apple challenged India’s new antitrust penalty law, which could allow the CCI to use Apple’s global business to calculate penalties. In response, the CCI asked Apple in October 2024 to file objections to the findings of the investigation and provide the financial statements typically used to assess penalties. However, reuters Apple has reportedly received repeated extensions since then.

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“The Commission is of the view that repeated extensions, despite clear instructions, undermine procedural discipline and hinder timely conclusion of the proceedings,” the CCI said in a confidential order dated December 31, 2025. reuters.

CCI further said, “Such relaxation cannot be continued indefinitely.”

The CCI intends to proceed unilaterally in the case if a response is not received from Apple by next week, as the Tim Cook-led tech giant has delayed the response to the authorities for more than a year and has weakened the investigation.

Citing a source familiar with the matter, reuters The report said that “Apple views the CCI’s December order as a move to halt ongoing court proceedings and the company was unlikely to respond before the judges’ next hearing on January 27.”

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