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ARTICLE · 18 NOVEMBER 2015

Dominance And Rebates: Beware

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek
De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek
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De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek

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The European Court of Justice recently confirmed that dominant companies need to be careful about granting rebates.

European UnionAntitrust/Competition Law
Erik Pijnacker Hordijk
Erik Pijnacker Hordijk
Jaap De Keijzer
Jaap De Keijzer
Jolling De Pree
Jolling De Pree
Bart De Rijke
Bart De Rijke
Gurgen Hakopian
Gurgen Hakopian
Willemijn Jonker
Willemijn Jonker
Xandra Reintjes
Xandra Reintjes
Stefan Molin
Stefan Molin
Mathieu Schimmel
Mathieu Schimmel
+2 more
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The European Court of Justice recently confirmed that dominant companies need to be careful about granting rebates. If the rebate scheme makes it easier for the dominant company to tie its own customers to itself and attract the customers of its already weaker competitors, the rebate scheme may qualify as abuse.

The case concerned a retroactive rebate scheme implemented by Post Danmark in 2007 and 2008 regarding bulk advertising mail. At the time, Post Danmark was controlled by the Danish State and had a statutory monopoly on the distribution of letters, including – in the case of bulk mail – direct advertising mail weighing up to 50 grams. The rebate scheme operated by Post Danmark had three main features:

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