United Kingdom: Issued ruling denying CMA application for an appeal of Competition Appeal Tribunal ruling in favour of Apple

On 3 May 2023, the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) denied the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) application for permission to appeal the CAT's 31 March 2023 ruling. In particular, the CAT determined that the CMA's investigation exceeded its powers, given that it was announced outside the time limit of 12 months after a market report was published. After conducting the market inquiry, the CMA announced on 22 November 2022 that it was opening a formal investigation into Apple. In the application for permission to appeal, the CMA stated that it had the general power to investigate markets outside the market study process and claimed that unforeseen delays had occurred and new evidence had been analysed. Given the significance and novelty of the issue, the CMA argued that the investigation was in the public interest. The CAT rejected all of the arguments, stating that the timeframe set by the parliament is legally binding and that there are no legally compelling reasons for the policy concerns raised by the CMA.