Interim Measures for Returns, Exchanges and Refunds
Adapted from the "Interim Measures for the Seven-Day Unconditional Return of Goods Purchased Online"
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 These Measures are formulated in accordance with the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests and other relevant laws and administrative regulations, in order to ensure the implementation of the seven-day unconditional return provisions of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, to protect the lawful rights and interests of consumers, and to promote the healthy development of e-commerce.
Article 2 These Measures apply where a consumer purchases goods online for daily living needs and returns them within seven days from the date of receipt in accordance with Article 25 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests.
Article 3 Online goods sellers shall perform the seven-day unconditional return obligation in accordance with the law.
Online trading platform providers shall guide and urge the online goods sellers on their platforms to perform the seven-day unconditional return obligation, carry out supervision and inspection, and provide technical support.
Article 4 The exercise by a consumer of the right to a seven-day unconditional return and the performance by an online goods seller of the seven-day unconditional return obligation shall both follow the principles of fairness, honesty and good faith, and comply with business ethics.
Article 5 Online goods sellers are encouraged to make unconditional return commitments that are more favourable to consumers than these Measures.
Chapter II Scope of Goods Not Eligible for Return and Standards for Goods in Good Condition
Article 6 The seven-day unconditional return provisions do not apply to the following goods:
(1) goods custom-made by the consumer;
(2) fresh and perishable goods;
(3) digital goods such as audio-visual products and computer software that are downloaded online or unsealed by the consumer;
(4) newspapers and periodicals that have been delivered.
Article 7 Goods of the following nature may be exempted from the seven-day unconditional return provisions where the consumer confirms this at the time of purchase:
(1) goods that, once unsealed, are likely to affect personal safety or health, or goods that, once unsealed, are likely to change in quality;
(2) goods whose value depreciates significantly once activated or tried out;
(3) goods nearing their expiry date and defective goods that were clearly indicated at the time of sale.
Article 8 Goods returned by the consumer shall be in good condition.
Goods shall be deemed to be in good condition if they retain their original quality and functions and the goods themselves, their accessories and their trademark labels are complete.
A consumer opening the packaging for inspection purposes, or carrying out reasonable testing to confirm the quality and functions of the goods, shall not affect the goods being in good condition.
Article 9 Where goods are used beyond what is necessary for inspection and confirmation of their quality and functions, resulting in significant depreciation in value, the goods shall be deemed not to be in good condition. The specific criteria are as follows:
(1) food (including health food), cosmetics, medical devices and family planning products: the necessary single-use sealed packaging has been damaged;
(2) electronic and electrical appliances: unauthorised repair or modification; damage to or alteration of compulsory product certification marks, instruction labels or machine serial numbers; visible signs of use that are difficult to restore to their original state; or data traces such as activation and authorisation information or unreasonable retention of personal usage data;
(3) clothing, footwear and headwear, bags, toys, home textiles and household goods: trademark labels have been removed or cut off, or the goods are stained or damaged.
Chapter III Return Procedures
Article 10 A consumer who opts for an unconditional return shall send a return notice to the online goods seller within seven days from the date of receipt of the goods.
The seven-day period starts from the day following the consumer's acceptance of the goods. (This clause does not apply to overseas consumers.)
Article 11 Upon receiving a return notice, the online goods seller shall promptly provide the consumer with true, accurate and valid contact information, including the return address, return contact person and return contact telephone number.
After obtaining such information, the consumer shall return the goods promptly and keep the return receipt.
Article 12 When returning goods, the consumer shall return the goods themselves together with their accessories and any gifts.
Gifts include physical items, loyalty points, cash vouchers and discount coupons. If the gifts cannot be returned together, the seller may require the consumer to pay for the gifts at the price indicated in advance.
Article 13 Where the goods returned by the consumer are in good condition, the online goods seller shall refund the price paid by the consumer within seven days from the date of receipt of the returned goods.
Article 14 The refund method shall follow the payment method used for the purchase. Where the seller and the consumer have agreed otherwise, that agreement shall prevail.
Where multiple payment methods were used for the purchase, the refund shall generally be made by the corresponding methods in proportion to the amounts actually paid by each method.
Unless the consumer has given express consent, the online goods seller shall not designate any other refund method on its own.
Article 15 Where the consumer paid using loyalty points, cash vouchers or discount coupons, the online goods seller shall return them to the consumer in the corresponding form after the goods are returned. Where there is an agreement on the use and return of loyalty points, cash vouchers or discount coupons, that agreement may prevail.
Article 16 Where the consumer paid by credit card, Alipay, WeChat or another online payment method and paid a handling fee, the online goods seller may refrain from refunding the handling fee.
Where the consumer paid by credit card, Alipay, WeChat or another online payment method and the online goods seller waived the handling fee, the online goods seller may deduct the handling fee from the refund.
Article 17 The refund amount shall be based on the amount actually paid by the consumer.
Where the return of part of a bundle, or of goods in a spend-and-save promotion, means the promotion can no longer be enjoyed, the settlement shall be based on the price of each item at the time of purchase, with any excess refunded and any shortfall paid.
Article 18 The shipping costs incurred in returning the goods shall be borne by the consumer in accordance with the law. Where the seller and the consumer have agreed otherwise, that agreement shall apply.
Where the consumer participated in a conditional free-shipping promotion but no longer meets its requirements after the return, the online goods seller may deduct the shipping costs from the refund.
Article 19 The online goods seller may agree with the consumer on the return method, but shall not restrict the consumer's choice of return method.
The online goods seller may collect the goods free of charge, or, with the consumer's consent, collect them for a fee.
Chapter IV Special Provisions
Article 20 Online goods sellers shall adopt technical or other measures to clearly mark goods that are not eligible for a seven-day unconditional return under Article 6 of these Measures.
For goods falling under Article 7 of these Measures, the online goods seller shall set up a prominent confirmation step in the mandatory sales process for the consumer to confirm the individual purchase. Without such confirmation, the online goods seller may not refuse a seven-day unconditional return.
Article 21 Online trading platform providers shall enter into agreements with the online goods sellers on their platforms specifying each party's rights, obligations and liabilities in relation to seven-day unconditional returns.
Article 22 Online trading platform providers shall, in accordance with the law, establish and improve their platform rules on seven-day unconditional returns and the supporting consumer-protection systems, display them continuously in a prominent place on their homepage, and ensure that consumers can conveniently read and download them in full.
Article 23 Online trading platform providers shall establish an inspection and monitoring system for the performance by online goods sellers on their platforms of the seven-day unconditional return obligation. Upon discovering any violation of relevant laws, regulations or rules, they shall promptly take measures to stop it and report to the market supervision and administration department at the place where the platform provider or the online goods seller is located, and may, where necessary, cease providing platform services to that seller.
Article 24 Online trading platform providers shall establish a system for the settlement of consumer disputes and self-discipline in consumer rights protection. Where a consumer who purchased goods on the platform has a consumer dispute arising from a return, or has suffered harm to their lawful rights and interests, and requests mediation by the platform provider, the platform provider shall mediate. Where the consumer seeks redress through other channels, the platform provider shall provide the consumer with the true name, address and valid contact details of the online goods seller on its platform and actively assist the consumer in protecting their lawful rights and interests.
Article 25 Online goods sellers shall establish sound procedures for the inspection and handling of goods returned under the seven-day unconditional return rule.
Goods returned under the seven-day unconditional return rule that can be fully restored to their original sale condition may be resold as new goods. Where goods returned under the seven-day unconditional return rule cannot be fully restored to their original sale condition and are resold, their actual condition shall be clearly marked in a prominent manner.
Chapter V Supervision and Inspection
Article 26 Market supervision and administration departments shall strengthen supervision and inspection of the business conduct of online goods sellers and online trading platform providers, urge and guide them to establish and improve the systems of first-ask responsibility of sellers and advance compensation, and to perform the seven-day unconditional return obligation for online purchases in accordance with the law.
Article 27 Market supervision and administration departments shall promptly accept and lawfully handle consumer complaints and reports concerning seven-day unconditional returns.
Article 28 Market supervision and administration departments shall, following the principles of fairness, openness and timeliness, use a combination of recommendations, regulatory talks and demonstrations to strengthen administrative guidance for online goods sellers and online trading platform providers in performing their statutory seven-day unconditional return obligations.
Article 29 Where market supervision and administration departments, in the course of supervising and inspecting online goods transactions, find that a seller refuses to perform the seven-day unconditional return obligation and infringes the lawful rights and interests of consumers, they shall investigate and deal with the matter in accordance with the law, record the relevant penalty information in the credit file, and publish it to the public.
Chapter VI Legal Liability
Article 30 Where an online goods seller violates Articles 6 or 7 of these Measures by arbitrarily expanding the scope of goods not eligible for a seven-day unconditional return, it shall be penalised in accordance with Article 56, paragraph 1, item (8) of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests.
Article 31 Where an online goods seller violates these Measures and falls under any of the following circumstances, it shall be penalised in accordance with Article 56, paragraph 1, item (8) of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests:
(1) refusing a return on the ground that the goods are not eligible for a seven-day unconditional return without the consumer having confirmed this at the time of purchase, or refusing a return on the ground that the consumer has unsealed or inspected the goods thereby affecting their good condition;
(2) failing to complete the return formalities within fifteen days from the date of receiving the consumer's return request, or failing to provide the consumer with true, accurate and valid contact information such as the return address and return contact person, thereby preventing the consumer from completing the return formalities;
(3) failing to refund the price paid by the consumer within fifteen days from the date of receiving the returned goods.
Article 32 Where an online trading platform provider violates Article 22 of these Measures, it shall be penalised in accordance with Article 81, paragraph 1, item (1) of the E-Commerce Law.
Article 33 Where an online goods seller violates Article 25 of these Measures by selling unconditionally returned goods that cannot be fully restored to their original condition without clearly marking their actual condition in a prominent manner, and also violates other laws or administrative regulations, it shall be penalised in accordance with those laws and administrative regulations. Where no provision is made in laws or administrative regulations, it shall be given a warning, ordered to make corrections, and fined not less than RMB 10,000 and not more than RMB 30,000.
Article 34 Where an online trading platform provider refuses to assist market supervision and administration departments in taking measures against, or investigating, suspected illegal acts, it shall be given a warning and ordered to make corrections; if it refuses to make corrections, it shall be fined not more than RMB 30,000.
Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions
Article 35 Where goods supplied by an online goods seller do not meet quality requirements and the consumer requests a return, Article 24 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests and other relevant provisions shall apply.
Article 36 Sellers selling goods by television, telephone, mail order or similar means shall comply with these Measures.
Article 37 These Measures shall be interpreted by the State Administration for Market Regulation.
Article 38 These Measures shall take effect on 15 March 2017.