Commission cannot approve substantial additional annual volume discount pricing program The Commission…

No. 151. Commission cannot approve substantial additional annual volume discount pricing program The Commission advised a manufacturer it cannot approve pricing proposal to provide customers an additional 10 percent discount on all purchases above $15,000 in volume within the calendar year. The additional discount would be granted as soon as the $15 000 volume is reached in the year. The proposal was scheduled to go into operation in 1968. The same rules would apply for each succeeding calendar year. Also, the program would provide a further discount on purchases above S25, 000 in annual volume. The present pricing program is not under examination. The manufacturer sells his products solely to nonexclusive distributors who resell them , and similar commodities produced by other suppliers, to end-users.

The Commission told the manufacturer it cannot approve the proposal because there is a strong likelihood that price discriminations in violation of Section 2 (a) of the Clayton Act may result if the proposal is put into operation. The Commission pointed out that price discriminations to customers who in fact compete with each other in resale of commodities of like grade and quality would violate Section 2 (a) of the Clayton Act unless cost justified or unless the lower price is a good faith meeting of a competitor equally low price. (File No. 683 7054 , released Dec. 8, 1967.