Apple may face a $38 billion antitrust penalty in India

Gold Financial reported that on April 21, according to Caixin, due to failure to submit relevant data in an antitrust case, Indian regulators have decided to accelerate the ruling on the fine against Apple, with the maximum fine amounting to $38 billion, and a final hearing scheduled for May 21.
This antitrust case began in 2021. That year, the Indian startup alliance and Match, the parent company of Tinder, filed a lawsuit against Apple, claiming that Apple forces developers to use its exclusive in-app purchase system and charges high commissions, suspected of abusing market dominance.
In 2024, India introduced new antitrust regulations, explicitly stating that regulators can calculate fines based on the company’s global turnover, rather than only considering domestic turnover. Apple filed a lawsuit in the Delhi High Court in November 2025, questioning the legality of the new regulation, claiming that if calculated based on the average global service revenue over the past three fiscal years at 10%, the maximum fine could reach $38 billion. In January this year, the Indian Competition Commission opposed Apple’s objections.