Amendment to the Distance Contracts Regulation: Consumers Will No Longer Bear Return Costs
The Regulation Amending the Distance Contracts Regulation was published in the Official Gazette dated 24 May 2025 and will enter into force on 1 January 2026.
Under the amended provisions, consumers can no longer be held responsible for the costs associated with returning goods when exercising their right of withdrawal in distance contracts. The relevant amendments revise Articles 5, 12, 13, and 15 of the Regulation, introducing a more consumer-friendly framework.
Notably:
- If the seller specifies a return carrier in the preliminary information, and the consumer returns the goods using that carrier, the return costs cannot be charged to the consumer.
- If no return carrier is specified, or if the specified carrier has no branch in the consumer’s location, the seller must arrange for the return at no additional cost to the consumer.
- The provision that previously allowed sellers to pass return costs to consumers under certain conditions (former Article 13/3) has been repealed.
- In addition, Article 15/1(i), which excluded the right of withdrawal for contracts relating to mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, and computers delivered to the consumer, has also been repealed. This change effectively lifts the blanket exemption for such electronic devices.
These changes require sellers and intermediary service providers to review and update their return procedures and preliminary information documents before the effective date.
For background on the obligations under the Distance Contracts Regulation, please see our earlier article here.
Successful