Delhi HC asks Centre, CCI to place reply on Apple’s plea against audit order

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday (December 16, 2025) directed the Centre and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to place before it their response to a petition filed by tech giant Apple Inc challenging the CCI’s direction to furnish its audited financial statements for several years.

Apple has also assailed the amendment to the Competition Act, 2002, which empowers the CCI to impose penalties based on a company’s global turnover.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela was informed that the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the CCI had filed their counter affidavit on Monday, though it had not yet been placed on record.

“Counter affidavit has been filed by the respondents on Monday. Let steps be taken to bring the counter affidavit on record,” the Bench said, while granting Apple time to file its rejoinder. The matter has been listed for further hearing on January 27.

Meanwhile, the Alliance of Digital India Foundation told the court that it has filed an application seeking to be made a party in the matter as the organisation was the original informant and complainant in the case.

The court asked the parties to file their objections, if any, to the application within four weeks.

Apple, in it plea, said the effect of amended penalty provisions is that the turnover generated from all products or services of the enterprise can be aggregated for computation of the penalty, instead of the turnover generated from the affected “relevant product or services” of the enterprise.

It said after the amendment, the global turnover of an enterprise, generated from territories outside the jurisdiction of the CCI, can be considered for computation of the penalty, instead of the turnover of an enterprise as generated in the “relevant geographic market”, that is, in the Indian market.

The plea said amended provision empowers the CCI to fine firms found guilty of abuse of dominance or anti-competitive conduct up to 10% of its average turnover of preceding three financial years.

Apple stated that its maximum penalty exposure, that is, 10% of its average global turnover derived from all of its products or services globally for financial years 2022 to 2024, could be around $38 billion.