1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Rebate

REBATE (Fr. rabat, from rabattre, to beat back), a term used in commerce, banking, &c. In banking, a rebate is an allowance made to a drawee taking up a bill of exchange before it is due. This allowance is the interest on the unexpired period of the bill, and in practice may be either a fixed or arbitrary rate; more often it is ½%, about the usual bank deposit rate. In commerce, rebate is sometimes used to mean a discount allowed for prompt payment; it is often equivalent to drawback, i.e. the repayment of part of the duty on imported goods when such goods are subsequently exported in their original or in another form. By the Customs Consolidation Act, 1853, a rebate or deduction is allowed at the custom-house from the fixed duties on certain kinds of goods, on account of damage or loss sustained in warehouses.