The Austrian legal regime regulating market dominance is set out in Part II (Sections 4 to 6) of the Austrian Cartel Act (KartG), stipulating the prohibition on abusing a (single or collective) dominant position and retaliation measures imposed by dominant companies against companies initiating cartel court proceedings or lodging a complaint with the Federal Competition Authority (FCA) and the Federal Cartel Prosecutor (FCP) (together the Official Parties). Further, abusive behaviour of companies having ‘relative’ market power in relation to their suppliers or customers is also prohibited.
In addition to the general provision prohibiting abuse of a dominant position, Section 5 KartG also contains examples of abusive behaviour: the examples in Section 5, Paragraph 1, Nos. 2 to 4 KartG are based on Article 102, Letters b to d of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Section 5, Paragraph 1, No. 1 KartG does not follow the exact wording of Article 102 Letter a TFEU, but prohibits requesting prices or other conditions that differ from those prices or conditions that would exist under a functioning competitive environment.
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