According to leaked internal orders from the regulatory institutions, the india antitrust agency rejected apple's (AAPL.O) request to suspend the release of its investigation report, which found that the company violated competition laws, allowing the case to proceed.
The india Competition Commission (CCI) ordered the recall of the investigation report in August, after apple stated that the regulatory body had disclosed trade secrets to the case's competitors as early as 2021, including Tinder owner Match (MTCH.O).
CCI required all parties to return the report and destroy all copies. The regulatory agency subsequently issued a new report.
CCI's internal orders indicated that apple accused the main complainant in the antitrust investigation, the india nonprofit Together We Fight Society (TWFS), of failing to comply with the directive, ensuring that the old investigation report had been destroyed.
According to a CCI order seen by the media, apple requested CCI to "take action against TWFS for noncompliance with the order" and to "withhold the revised report."
CCI stated in its order: "The request from apple to suspend the release of the investigation report is considered unfounded."
A CCI investigation found that apple used its dominant position in the iOS operating system application store market to harm the interests of app developers, users, and other payment processors.
Apple denied any wrongdoing and stated that it is just a small company in india, while phones using the google android system dominate the market in india.
The internal orders of the CCI also indicate that apple has been asked to submit audited financial statements for the fiscal years 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24, in accordance with regulatory guidelines, to determine the potential fines that may be imposed in this case.
Senior officials of the CCI will review the investigation report and make a final ruling on the case.