When Does RPM Become Pro-Competitive And When Does It Not?

Competition authorities, particularly the Turkish Competition Authority (TCA), continue tofight against suppliers' desire to keep prices above a certain level. At this point, the resale price maintenance (RPM) issue comes to the agenda, which a manufacturer or importer can implement without the need to communicate with its competitor, and the higher the market share, the more success it can achieve. Let's look at how this practice is handled.

According to the Group Exemption Communiqué on Vertical Agreements, the prevention of the buyer's freedom to determine its own sales price is among the vertical restrictions that exclude a vertical agreement from the scope of group exemption. In this context, it is only possible for the supplier to determine the maximum sales price or recommend the sales price, provided that it does not turn into a fixed or minimum sales price due to the pressure or incentive of any of the parties. The fact that these prices are maximum or