Resale price

Resale price maintenance in the European Union Law

Concept of Resale price maintenance provided by the “Glossary of terms used in EU competition policy” (Antitrust and control of concentrations, published in 2002): Agreements or concerted practices between a supplier and a dealer with the object of directly or indirectly establishing a fixed or minimum price or price level to be observed by the dealer when reselling a product/service to his customers. A provision which foresees resale price maintenance will generally be considered to constitute a () hard-core restriction. In the case of contractual provi-sions or concerted practices that directly establish the resale price, the restriction is clear-cut. However, resale price maintenance can also be achieved through indirect means: for example, by fixing the distribu-tion margin or the maximum level of discount the distributor may grant from a prescribed price level; by making the supplier's rebates or his reimbursement of promotional costs subject to the observance of a given price level; by linking the prescribed resale price to the resale prices of competitors; or by threats, warnings, or even sanc-tions against a dealer who does not respect a certain price level (such as penalties, delay or suspension of deliveries or termination of contracts).