Apple is lobbying India to amend a decades-old tax law that could expose the company to billions of dollars in taxes on equipment it owns inside local iPhone factories, Reuters reports.
Apple is reportedly urging the Indian government to modify provisions in the Income Tax Act of 1961 to ensure it is not taxed simply for owning high-value manufacturing machinery supplied to its contract manufacturers, including Foxconn and Tata Electronics. The issue is a potential obstacle to Apple’s expansion in the country.
Indian law currently treats such ownership as creating a “business connection”, effectively making the company’s global iPhone profits taxable in India. In China, Apple operates under a different model. The company buys the specialized machinery required to assemble iPhones and provides it to its manufacturing partners without becoming liable for local corporate tax. In India, the same practice could trigger significant tax exposure under existing law.
Legal experts say India’s stance may stem from precedents such as the 2017 Supreme Court ruling against Formula One, which held that the UK-based company was liable for local taxes during its Grand Prix event because it exercised control over the circuit despite not owning it. A similar interpretation could apply if Apple were to maintain ownership of machinery used in Indian factories.
Discussions with the Indian government on taxation rules impacting Apple are said to be ongoing. The effort comes amid rapid expansion of its Indian operations. Since 2022, the country’s share of global iPhone shipments is believed to have increased fourfold to around 25%. While China still produces around 75% of all iPhones, India is increasingly viewed as a critical secondary hub as Apple diversifies its supply chain. Foxconn and Tata have together invested more than $5 billion to open five large manufacturing facilities for Apple in the country.
Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Popular Stories
Apple Expected to Announce These Two to Three Products ‘This Week’
Apple plans to announce new products “this week,” according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Apple’s “Mac Your Calendars” teaser last October In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the products set to be updated this week include the iPad Pro, Vision Pro, and “likely” the base 14-inch MacBook Pro, with all three likely to receive a spec bump with Apple’s next-generation M5 chip. Gurman…
Apple Preparing iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones
Apple’s software engineers are internally testing iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.0.2 will likely be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet. The update will likely be released within the next few weeks. Last month, Apple released iOS…
Apple TV+ Being Rebranded as Apple TV
Buried in its announcement about “F1: The Movie” making its streaming debut on December 12, Apple has also announced that Apple TV+ is being rebranded as simply Apple TV. A single line near the end of the press release states “Apple TV+ is now simply Apple TV, with a vibrant new identity,” though Apple’s website has yet to be updated with any changes, so we’re unsure on the details of the…
iPhone 18 Pro Already Rumored to Have These 6 New Features
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still nearly a year away, a handful of new features and changes have already been rumored for the devices. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. Smaller Dynamic Island The standard iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Pro, and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with a slightly smaller Dynamic Island, but the devices will…
Apple Reportedly Working on New AirPods Pro, AirPods 5, and H3 Chip
After releasing AirPods Pro 3 last month, Apple is already working on the next AirPods Pro, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. It is unclear if the new AirPods Pro would be branded as AirPods Pro 4, or if they would be considered an updated version of AirPods Pro 3. Gurman did not take a position, opting to describe them as a “new version” of the “high-end in-ear buds.” AirPods Pro 2…
Apple Teases Upcoming M5 MacBook Pro Launch: ‘Something Powerful is Coming’
Apple marketing chief Greg Joswiak today teased the launch of an upcoming product, saying “something powerful is coming” on social media. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. A short animation accompanying Joswiak’s teaser reveals a brief glimpse of a MacBook Pro along with the words “coming soon.” The shape of the MacBook Pro is a V, which is the Roman numeral…
Apple’s Smart Glasses With In-Lens Display May Feature Two Modes
Apple’s second-generation smart glasses with an in-lens display may have two modes, depending on which device they are connected to. Meta Ray-Bans without an in-lens display In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said he was told a future version of Apple’s smart glasses may be able to run a full version of the visionOS operating system when they are paired with a Mac, and…
Apple to Launch New Products Starting Next Week, Claims Dubious Leak [Updated]
Update: the Naver account appears to be referencing a speculative post on X by Vadim Yuryev, dated October 6. The original article follows. Apple will announce new products through a series of press releases beginning as soon as next week, according to a dubious claim posted on the Korean blog Naver. The Naver blog account yeux1122, which aggregates rather than originates Apple…
AirPods Max 2: Everything We Know So Far
Apple’s AirPods Max have now been available for almost five years, so what do we know about the second-generation version? According to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new AirPods Max will be lighter than the current ones, but exactly how much is as yet known. The current AirPods Max weigh 0.85 pounds (386.2 grams), excluding the charging case, making it one of the heavier…
