Abstract

One of the most important methods of competition among undertakings is price rivalry, which may consist in granting rebates to customers. However, this rivalry is not unequivocal for competition in a situation whereby rebates are granted by undertakings having a dominant position in the market. Owing to such practices they may disturb the competition mechanism in the market in order to make gains. The article analyses rebates most frequently used by dominant undertakings from the viewpoint of their compliance with Art. 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union prohibiting the abuse of a dominant position. The most frequently used rebate systems, i.e. quality rebates, quantity rebates, loyalty rebates and target rebates will be examined. It should be noted that Art. 102 of the TFEU does not directly concern rebates, hence it is necessary to refer to the judgments of the European Court of Justice and the General Court of the European Union, the decisions of the European Commission, and the views of the doctrine.