Irish Right to Cancel Online: 14 Days under CRA 2022

If you sell to consumers in Ireland online, they have 14 days to cancel and return the order. No reason required, no restocking fee, and you owe a full refund of the price and standard delivery cost. This is the right to cancel — Ireland's term for what the EU directive calls "right of withdrawal" — and getting the disclosure wrong can stretch your obligation from fourteen days to twelve months.

Where this comes from

The right to cancel for distance contracts sits in the Consumer Rights Act 2022, Ireland's consolidating consumer-rights statute. The Act gives effect to several EU consumer directives, including the Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU (Articles 9 to 16, the source of the 14-day right). The CRD was originally transposed into Irish law by the European Union (Consumer Information, Cancellation and Other Rights) Regulations 2013, S.I. No. 484 of 2013. Both instruments remain in force: the CRA 2022 is the primary statutory framework, while specific regulations of S.I. 484/2013 still apply where the Act has not displaced them.

The Omnibus Directive (EU) 2019/2161 added transparency rules and stiffened penalties from 2022 onwards, but it did not change the 14-day window itself. A further amending directive, (EU) 2023/2673, introduces a mandatory withdrawal button for online services from 19 June 2026. Ireland missed the December 2025 transposition deadline; a letter of formal notice was issued by the European Commission, and transposition is planned via amendment to the CRA 2022 — see our guide on the withdrawal button rules for Irish webshops.

The right applies to every business-to-consumer (B2C) distance contract regardless of trader size. Sole traders, small Shopify shops and large retailers are all caught. B2B sales are outside the scope, but a sole trader buying for personal use may still qualify as a consumer. When in doubt, honour the right.

When do the 14 days start?

The clock does not start on the same day for every contract:

Goods. The period starts on the day the consumer (or a third party they nominated, other than the carrier) takes physical possession of the goods. For multi-shipment orders, the period starts when the last item arrives.

Services. The period starts on the day the contract is concluded — the day the consumer placed the order.

Digital content (downloads, streaming, SaaS access). Same as services: the period starts on the day the contract is concluded. A conditional exception applies where performance has begun with the consumer's prior express consent — covered in the exceptions section below.

Weekends and bank holidays count. If the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the deadline rolls to the next business day.

Not informing the consumer = 12 months

This is where it gets expensive. You are obliged to inform the consumer of the right to cancel before the contract is concluded, in a clear and comprehensible way and on a durable medium (product page, checkout, order-confirmation email, leaflet in the parcel).

If you do not, the cancellation period extends from 14 days to 12 months from the end of the original 14-day window. That is not a typo. A consumer who was never informed of the right can return the item up to a year later and demand a full refund.

If you supply the missing information within those 12 months, a new 14-day period starts from the date the consumer receives it. But this is not a position you want to be in. Bake the disclosure into your order-confirmation email, the checkout flow and your Irish business website legal requirements.

What is exempt under Article 16 / CRA 2022

Not every distance sale falls under the 14-day right. The Consumer Rights Act 2022 (transposing Article 16 of the Directive) lists eight categories of exempt contracts:

The digital-content exception is conditional. You must obtain the consumer's prior express consent to begin performance and an explicit acknowledgement that they lose the right to cancel. Steam, Netflix and most download stores capture this through a mandatory tick-box at checkout. Without both elements, the right to cancel still applies.

If you rely on any of these exemptions, say so clearly on the product page and in your terms. Springing it on the consumer post-sale is a misleading commercial practice under the Consumer Protection Act 2007 and the CCPC will take action.

What the consumer must do

The consumer does not just post the item back without notice. There is a two-step process:

Step 1 — Notify within 14 days. The consumer must give an unambiguous statement of their decision to cancel. An email, letter, completed model form or online cancellation form all qualify. A phone call is technically valid but harder to evidence. The 14-day deadline is about sending the notification, not your receipt of it.

Step 2 — Return the goods within 14 days of notifying. After notifying, the consumer has another 14 days to return the goods. They bear the direct return cost unless you agreed to pay or failed to inform them they would.

The consumer is allowed to handle the goods to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning — as they would in a physical shop. Anything beyond inspection can attract a diminished-value deduction from the refund. You must have informed the consumer of this rule beforehand.

What you must do

Once you are notified of the cancellation (or have received proof of return), you have 14 days to refund the consumer in full. The refund must include:

• The full price of the goods.
• The original delivery cost — meaning your standard delivery rate. If the consumer chose a more expensive option (express, premium), you only refund what standard would have cost.

Use the same payment method the consumer used unless they expressly agree to a different one and incur no fees as a result. You may withhold the refund until the goods are received back or the consumer has supplied evidence of return — whichever is earlier.

The model cancellation form

Irish law requires you to make a model cancellation form available to the consumer. The standard template is set out in Annex I(B) of the Consumer Rights Directive and reproduced under Irish law. You do not have to use the exact format — but your form must enable the consumer to easily exercise the right and contain at minimum:

• Your trader details: business name, geographic address, telephone number, email.
• Order reference fields: order date, date of receipt, order number.
• A product description field.
• A statement of cancellation, pre-printed, for example: "I/We hereby give notice that I/we cancel my/our contract of sale of the following goods/for the supply of the following service."
• Name, address, signature and date for the consumer.

In practice, traders put the form on a returns page, attach it to the order confirmation email, or include it as an insert in the parcel. An online portal counts too as long as it captures the same information. What does not work: hiding the form behind a login, forcing the consumer to phone a call centre, or requiring a webchat conversation as a precondition to cancellation.

The form does not replace the pre-contractual disclosure of the right itself. The consumer must be told, before the contract is concluded, that they have a 14-day right to cancel, how to exercise it, who bears the return cost, and where the model form is available.

CCPC enforcement

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is the primary regulator for consumer rights in Ireland. Enforcement powers come from the Consumer Protection Act 2007, the Consumer Rights Act 2022, and S.I. No. 484 of 2013 itself. The CCPC can:

• Issue compliance notices requiring a trader to stop a specified practice and bring their site into conformity.
• Apply to the High Court for a prohibition order against ongoing unfair commercial practices.
• Refer matters for criminal prosecution under the Consumer Protection Act 2007 — summary conviction can attract a class A fine; conviction on indictment can attract an unlimited fine and up to 18 months' imprisonment for directors and officers.
• Coordinate with EU regulators via the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network. For cross-border infringements affecting consumers in multiple member states, the Omnibus Directive imposes a minimum penalty ceiling of 4% of annual turnover in the affected countries.

In practice, enforcement usually starts with a consumer complaint to the CCPC or via Citizens Information. For cross-border disputes, the European Consumer Centre Ireland (eccireland.ie) is the first port of call. For Irish traders selling into other EU countries, expect that the consumer's local authority will be the first contact — the SPF Économie in Belgium, the Autoriteit Consument & Markt in the Netherlands, the DGCCRF in France.

If you also sell into the UK, note that post-Brexit the UK applies its own rules under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 — Ireland's CRA 2022 does not cover UK consumers.

How this fits with the rest of your compliance

The right to cancel is one piece of the broader e-commerce obligation set. Pages worth getting right alongside it:

• Legal notices and disclosures. Your footer, contact details and terms must satisfy the Companies Act 2014, the eCommerce Regulations 2003 (S.I. No. 68/2003) and the Consumer Rights Act 2022. See legal notices required on Irish business websites.
• The new withdrawal button (19 June 2026). Directive (EU) 2023/2673 requires online services to provide a one-click cancellation button. See withdrawal button rules for Irish webshops.
• General website legal requirements. Cookies, accessibility, GDPR, terms and trader identification. See Irish business website legal requirements.

Doing this well is not just about avoiding CCPC enforcement. Consumers who see a clear, accessible cancellation policy are measurably more likely to convert and less likely to file chargebacks. Want to see where your site stands? Run a free scan and get the issues laid out point by point.

Frequently asked questions

Can I offer store credit instead of a cash refund?

Not as a default. The Consumer Rights Act 2022 requires the refund to be paid using the same means as the original purchase, unless the consumer expressly agrees to something else and incurs no fees. A clause in your terms that imposes store credit is not binding on the consumer.

Does the right to cancel apply to business buyers (B2B)?

No. The right protects consumers — natural persons acting outside their trade, business, craft or profession. B2B sales fall outside, unless you grant the right contractually. Be careful with sole traders or company directors buying for private use: they may still qualify as consumers in the circumstances.

What if the consumer returns a damaged item?

You may deduct the diminished value from the refund — but only to the extent the consumer's handling went beyond what was necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods. Trying on a pair of shoes is fine. Wearing them outdoors for a week and returning them scuffed is not. You must have warned the consumer of this rule in advance.

Do I have to accept returns from consumers in other EU countries?

Yes. The right to cancel applies wherever the consumer is located in the EU, provided you sell to that country. The consumer bears the direct return cost unless you agreed otherwise. Refusing a return because it comes from abroad is not lawful.

Can I charge a restocking fee?

No. A restocking fee, a "handling charge" or any deduction beyond a documented diminished-value calculation is not permitted. The Consumer Rights Act 2022 makes the right mandatory, and any term that effectively reduces it is unenforceable.