Global tech giant Apple has approached the Delhi High Court, challenging India’s competition law provisions that give the Competition Commission of India the power to levy penalties based on companies’ global turnover.
The petition is listed for hearing before a Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela on Wednesday. Apple has named the Union of India and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) as respondents in the case.Â
Apple has challenged the 2023 amendment to Section 27(b) of the Competition Act, 2002, and the Monetary Penalty Guidelines, 2024, to the extent they introduced the concept of ‘global turnover’. According to the section, enterprises found guilty of abuse of dominance or anti-competitive conduct are liable upto a penalty of up to 10% of their average turnover in the preceding three financial years.
The amendment broadened the definition of ‘turnover’ so that penalties can be based on global revenue from all products and services, rather than just Indian revenue from the specific product involved in the alleged violation.
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Before these changes, penalties were limited to ‘relevant turnover’ following a 2017 Supreme Court ruling in the Excel Crop Care Case, which held that using total or global turnover had no “rational connection” to the alleged anti-competitive conduct in India and would be disproportionate.
