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Handling EU Right of Withdrawal Requests

Learn what to do when an EU customer submits a withdrawal request, including how to cancel the order in Portless and what refund obligations apply.

Effective June 19, 2026, EU Directive 2023/2673 requires merchants selling online to EU consumers to provide a withdrawal button on their storefront. When a customer uses this button, they are exercising their legal right to cancel a purchase within 14 days of receiving their order.

This article explains how to handle those requests on the Portless side.


Things to keep in mind

  • A refund is the minimum obligation. Merchants selling to EU consumers are required to have a refund policy in place to accommodate withdrawal requests.

  • Cancellations made in Shopify do not automatically sync to the Portless WMS. You must cancel in the Portless Portal or contact Support separately.

  • Cancellation is a request, not a guarantee. If an order has already entered fulfillment or a tracking number has been generated, it may not be possible to stop the shipment. Please see Reviewing Order Status When Requesting Changes for more information.

  • Self-serve cancellation in the Portal is available for non-bonded warehouse merchants only.


Before the order is delivered

If a customer submits a withdrawal request before their order has arrived, act as quickly as possible to stop fulfillment.

Note for orders shipped through the VN bonded warehouse: Once a First Mile or Last Mile tracking number has been generated, the order can no longer be cancelled, even if the status still shows as "In Progress." Contact [email protected] as early as possible.

If your store is on non-bonded inventory, visit this page for self-help options.


After the order is delivered

If a customer submits a withdrawal request after already receiving their order, there is nothing to cancel on the Portless side. The order has already been fulfilled and shipped.

In this case:

  • Issue the refund directly in Shopify.

  • Merchants selling to EU consumers are required to have a refund policy in place to accommodate withdrawal requests.

  • If you are interested in offering a physical returns option to your customers, refer to the following:

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