From June 19, 2026, EU Directive 2023/2673 requires online merchants to give EU consumers a visible, easy-to-use withdrawal mechanism - one that is as simple as the original purchase process. The 14-day right of withdrawal itself is not new, but merchants must now make it actively and easily accessible online.
To make compliance as straightforward as possible, ReturnGO has pre-built a ready-to-use EU Right of Withdrawal policy in your ReturnGO dashboard. It is configured to meet all requirements of the directive and is inactive by default.
How It Works
Once set up, customers who select Order withdrawal as their return reason will only be offered the EU right of withdrawal policy, and no other policy rules will apply.
Their request can be automatically approved the moment it's submitted, triggering a withdrawal acknowledgement text in the Request approved email sent to the customer.
You can also configure auto-refund and other automations to make the entire flow hands-off.
Setting Up Withdrawal Right for Fulfilled Orders
This handles post-shipment withdrawal requests. Customers submit through your return portal using a dedicated return reason.
The Order withdrawal return reason and the EU right of withdrawal policy rule are already on your dashboard by default. You just need to activate them for them to work.
The steps below walk you through how to do that.
Enable the Order Withdrawal Return Reason
To set up withdrawal rights for fulfilled orders:
1. Go to Settings > Return Reasons.
2. Find the Order withdrawal reason and click the pencil icon to edit it.
3. Enable the Display reason toggle so customers can see it in the return portal.
4. Click on the save icon to save your changes.
Configure Your Shipping Refund Setting
Before setting up your EU policy rule, configure your shipping refund setting:
- Go to Settings > General.
- Open the Refunds section.
- Set Add shipping cost refund automatically to Per Policy Rule.
- Save your changes.
Set Up the EU Right of Withdrawal Policy Rule
To add this reason to a return policy:
1. Go to Settings > Return Policy.
2. Find the EU right of withdrawal policy and click the pencil icon to edit it.
3. Toggle Activate Policy Rule to enable it.
4. Enable the Include withdrawal acknowledgement toggle.
Note: When enabled, customers who complete a return under this policy receive a withdrawal acknowledgement text in their Request approved email, in addition to the standard approval message. Use this only for policy rules that handle EU right-of-withdrawal returns.
5. In the Eligibility section, verify that the order eligibility condition is correct.
6. Open the RMA Handling Process section.
7. Enable the Include Shipping Costs in Refunds toggle.
Note: EU law requires that original shipping costs be refunded as part of the right of withdrawal. Make sure this setting is enabled to stay compliant.
8. Click on the save icon to save your changes.
Note: To make sure customers who select Order withdrawal are only ever offered this policy, and never routed to a different policy rule, you'll need to add an eligibility condition to each of your other active policy rules. See Configuring Your Other Policy Rules below.
Configuring Your Other Policy Rules
To ensure customers who select Order withdrawal are only offered the EU right of withdrawal policy, you need to add an eligibility condition to each of your other active policy rules. Without this, a customer selecting Order withdrawal as their reason may unintentionally qualify for a different policy.
For each existing policy rule (other than the EU right of withdrawal policy):
- Go to Settings > Return Policy.
- Click the pencil icon on the policy rule you want to update.
- Open the Eligibility section.
- Add one of the following conditions:
- Item → not eligible → if return reason → is → Order withdrawal
- Item → eligible → if return reason → is not → Order withdrawal
- Click on the save icon to save your changes.
- Repeat for all other active policy rules.
Tip: When setting up eligibility conditions, the operator matters:
- If you select eligible, set the operator to AND.
- If you select not eligible, set the operator to OR.
Customizing the Withdrawal Acknowledgement Text
The withdrawal acknowledgement text appears in the Request approved email sent to the customer when their return is approved. You can edit this text to match your store's tone or add any additional information required by your local regulations.
To customize the acknowledgement text:
- Go to Settings > Emails > Contents.
- Click Translate returns emails.
- Click the pencil icon next to the language.
- Open the Request Approved Email section.
- Edit the field with your preferred text.
- Click on the save icon to save your changes.
Setting Up Withdrawal Right for Unfulfilled Orders
This handles pre-shipment cancellation requests. When a customer enters their order details in the return portal, ReturnGO detects that the order has not been fulfilled yet and automatically routes them through the cancellation flow.
Note: The cancel order resolution is currently only supported on Shopify. ReturnGO is actively expanding support to additional e-commerce platforms.
To configure this, set up the Cancel Order resolution and create a dedicated Return Policy for unfulfilled order withdrawals. You can also enable the Include withdrawal acknowledgement toggle in the policy rule to send customers a withdrawal acknowledgement in their Request approved email.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the Order withdrawal reason showing for non-EU customers?
ReturnGO only shows a return reason in the portal if at least one active policy rule is eligible for it. If a non-EU policy, such as your regular refund policy, does not have an item-level condition making Order withdrawal not eligible, that policy stays eligible for it, so the reason will keep showing for non-EU customers.
Every return policy that does not apply to EU customers needs this item-level condition enabled. See Configuring Your Other Policy Rules above for the exact steps.
Do I need to build the policy from scratch?
No. ReturnGO has a pre-built EU Right of Withdrawal rule in your return platform. It is inactive by default - all you need to do is activate it.
What happens to EU items returned outside the 14-day window?
They fall outside the withdrawal policy rule and will be matched against your existing return policy (e.g., your regular 30-day return policy). No change.
Can I customize the pre-built policy?
Yes - the rule is fully editable. Be careful not to remove the settings required by the directive: the refund to payment method only resolution, the 14-day eligibility window, the EU country scope, and the refund of original outbound shipping. Any changes to these may affect your compliance posture; consult your legal counsel if unsure.
Are "final sale" or non-returnable items exempt from the Right of Withdrawal?
No. Under EU consumer law, labeling an item as "final sale" or tagging an order as "non-returnable" does not exempt it from the statutory 14-day Right of Withdrawal. If you use such tags in ReturnGO to block or restrict returns, make sure the EU Right of Withdrawal policy is not limited by those tags - EU shoppers retain the right to withdraw regardless of how the item or order is tagged in your store.
Review the item-level eligibility conditions on the policy rule to confirm that final sale and non-returnable tagged items and orders remain within scope.
Can I keep charging a restocking fee on withdrawals?
No. Under Directive (EU) 2023/2673 you may only retain the direct cost of returning the goods (the return label fee). Restocking or "return fee" deductions on a clean withdrawal of unused, returnable goods are not allowed.
Do I need to enable this for every EU country separately?
No - the policy covers every EU country. If your return label cost varies by country, you can duplicate the rule and scope each copy to specific countries with different label fees.
Will this conflict with my existing return policy rules?
No. The withdrawal rule is additive and will only match when all three eligibility conditions are met (EU location AND within 14 days of delivery AND reason = Order Withdrawal). Your existing rules remain untouched.
Where can I see how many withdrawal requests I'm receiving?
Filter your RMAs by the withdrawal return reason on the Manage Returns page, or go to Analytics > Returns and use the Reasons breakdown.
What if I want to disable this entirely?
Toggle Activate Policy Rule off on the EU Right of Withdrawal rule in Settings > Return Policy. Keep in mind that if you sell to EU shoppers, you are still legally required to provide a withdrawal mechanism.