If a customer returns an order within the cooling-off period, you refund everything the customer paid, including the standard delivery costs. That must happen no later than 14 days after the customer cancelled the purchase. You may wait until the parcel is back, or until the customer shows it is on its way.
You get back the VAT on what you refund. You deduct it in the VAT return for the period in which the return is established, not in the period of the sale. If the sale went through the Union scheme (OSS), you process the correction in your next OSS return.
In short
- Refund within 14 days of the cancellation, including standard delivery costs. Return costs are for the customer if you said so in advance.
- You deduct the VAT on the refunded amount in the return for the period of the return. An EU sale through OSS is corrected in the next OSS return, within 3 years.
- Reverse the sales, VAT and cost of sales and put the product back into stock. A product that can no longer be sold is written off.
In this article
- What must you refund to the customer, and when?
- Who pays the return costs and for a damaged product?
- How do you get the VAT back on a return?
- And if the customer lives in another EU country?
- Do you need a credit note?
- How do you book a return in your accounts?
- Does a generous returns policy lead to more returns?
What must you refund to the customer, and when?
Everything the customer paid, including the delivery costs, no later than 14 days after the customer cancelled the purchase. That is what the law says (Dutch Civil Code 6:230r(1)). You refund using the same means of payment the customer used, unless the customer expressly agrees to another one. That may not cost the customer anything (Dutch Civil Code 6:230r(2)).
Did the customer choose a more expensive delivery than your cheapest standard delivery, for example Sunday delivery? Then you do not have to refund those extra costs (Dutch Civil Code 6:230r(3)). You then only refund the standard delivery costs.
You may wait with the refund until you have the product back, or until the customer has shown that it was sent back. Whichever happens first counts (Dutch Civil Code 6:230r(4)). The customer must send the product back within 14 days of the notice (Dutch Civil Code 6:230s(1)).
Who pays the return costs and for a damaged product?
The customer bears the direct costs of sending the product back, but only if you said so in advance. If you did not, the return costs are for you (Dutch Civil Code 6:230s(2)). So state it clearly in your information before the order.
If a product comes back damaged or clearly used, you may withhold part of the amount. The customer is only liable for a reduction in value if they handled the product more than needed to establish its nature, characteristics and functioning. If you did not inform the customer properly about the right of withdrawal, you may withhold nothing (Dutch Civil Code 6:230s(3)).
If you withhold part, you refund less. For VAT only what you actually refund counts, as the next question shows.
How do you get the VAT back on a return?
Through your VAT return. If a purchase is cancelled, the amount you paid VAT on is reduced, and to that extent you are entitled to a refund of the VAT you already paid (VAT Act 1968, art. 29(1)). If you only refund part, you also only get back the VAT on that part.
The timing matters. The right to a refund arises when the cancellation is established, and you deduct the amount in the return for that period (VAT Act 1968, art. 29(2) and (4)). If you sold a coat in December and it comes back in January, you process the correction in the return for January or the first quarter. You do not change the return for December.
Worked example: a customer paid € 121 for a product, with 21% VAT. You refund everything. In the return for the period of the return you deduct € 21 from the VAT on your sales. If you withhold € 12.10 for reduced value, you refund € 108.90 and deduct € 18.90 VAT.
And if the customer lives in another EU country?
Then it depends on the VAT you charged. If you stayed below € 10,000 a year to private customers in other EU countries together, you usually charged Dutch VAT (Belastingdienst, selling goods to private customers in the EU). You then simply correct it in your Dutch return.
If you charged the VAT of the customer's country through the Union scheme (OSS), you correct it in the OSS return. You cannot change a return you already filed. You report the change in your next return, no later than 3 years after the date the original return was due (Belastingdienst, reporting VAT through the One Stop Shop).
Keep the Union scheme records, including returns, for 10 years after the end of the year of supply (Belastingdienst, reporting VAT through the One Stop Shop).
Do you need a credit note?
For a private customer in the Netherlands it is usually not required. The invoicing obligation in the law applies to supplies to businesses and legal entities, and to a few other cases (VAT Act 1968, art. 34c). Many online shops still send private customers an invoice. Then it is wise to record the return on paper as well.
If you sold to a business customer with an invoice, you issue a credit note. A document that changes the original invoice and refers to it specifically and unambiguously counts as an invoice (VAT Act 1968, art. 34f). So put the number of the original invoice and the change on the credit note.
How do you book a return in your accounts?
As the reverse of the sale. You reverse the sales and the VAT and set the refund against the bank or your payment provider. If you keep stock, you put the product back into stock and reduce the cost of sales. That keeps your margin and your stock correct.
If the product comes back damaged and you can no longer sell it, you do not put it back into stock at the purchase price. You then book it as a loss or at a lower value. What you withhold for reduced value is income that partly makes up for the loss.
Watch out for costs that do not come back. If the parcel came from outside the EU, nobody gets the European € 2 handling fee back, not even on a return (Dutch Customs, handling fee for e-commerce). Shipping costs both ways and your payment provider's fees also often remain costs for you. Book them as costs, not as a reduction of sales.
Does a generous returns policy lead to more returns?
Somewhat, but it often brings more sales. A meta-analysis of 21 studies on returns policies found that a more generous policy increased purchases. The effect on the number of returns was smaller, but also positive. A longer time to return was in fact linked to fewer returns (Janakiraman, Syrdal & Freling, 2016).
That study is about policies more generous than the law requires, and about studies mostly done outside the Netherlands. The legal 14 days and the refund including delivery costs are a fixed minimum for you. For your accounts it means: track returns per month, separately from your sales, so you can see what your policy costs.
Sources
- Dutch Civil Code Book 6 (Burgerlijk Wetboek), articles 230r and 230s, in force from 16 July 2026. wetten.overheid.nl
- VAT Act 1968 (Wet op de omzetbelasting 1968), articles 29, 34c and 34f, in force from 1 January 2026. wetten.overheid.nl
- Belastingdienst, Reporting VAT through the One Stop Shop, accessed 28 October 2026. belastingdienst.nl
- Belastingdienst, Selling goods to private customers in other EU countries, accessed 28 October 2026. belastingdienst.nl
- Dutch Customs, Handling fee for e-commerce, updated 22 October 2026. douane.nl
- Janakiraman, N., Syrdal, H.A. & Freling, R. (2016). The effect of return policy leniency on consumer purchase and return decisions: a meta-analytic review. Journal of Retailing, 92(2), 226-235. doi.org