The Right of Withdrawal in Online Purchases: The Seven-Day Period Under Article 49 of the CDC

This page is a translation of the original Portuguese text, provided for convenience. It deals with Brazilian law. If there is any discrepancy, the Portuguese version prevails. Read the original in Portuguese

Buying online and then changing your mind is something the law anticipates. Brazil’s Consumer Protection Code gives anyone who buys outside a physical store the right to back out of the deal within seven days, without explaining why and without paying any penalty.

What the right of withdrawal is

The right of withdrawal (direito de arrependimento) is the ability to undo a purchase shortly after making it, when the purchase was made remotely. It is set out in Article 49 of the Consumer Protection Code (Código de Defesa do Consumidor, or CDC) and applies to contracts made outside the seller’s place of business, such as those made over the internet, by phone, through messaging apps, or at your front door. The central idea is simple: if you buy without seeing and touching the product, you deserve a second chance to evaluate your decision.

This window is known as the cooling-off period. During it, you can take your time to decide whether the product really meets your expectations, whether the size fits, whether the color matches the photos, and whether the purchase makes sense for your budget. The law starts from an obvious observation: when you shop in person, you examine the item before paying; when you shop online, you only get that contact once the order arrives.

One point often comes as a surprise: withdrawal does not depend on any defect. The product may be perfect, working, and well within its expiration date, and you still have the right to return it. Changing your mind is enough. That is why specialists classify this as a potestative right, meaning one you exercise by your own will alone, and the store cannot refuse it or impose conditions that would empty it of meaning.

The seven-day period: when it starts to run

The period is seven calendar days, not seven business days. Under Article 49, the count begins when the contract is signed or when the product or service is received. In online shopping, the most common starting point is delivery: the clock starts on the day the order reaches your hands. This protects people who waited days for delivery and could only then check what they had bought.

When the subject of the contract is a service, the logic adjusts. In those cases, what matters is the moment of contracting and the point at which what you hired actually becomes available to you. For digital subscriptions, plans, or courses, it is prudent to submit your cancellation as soon as you make the decision, rather than letting the period run out while you wait for a reply from the provider.

To avoid losing your right or facing unnecessary disputes, it is worth documenting everything. You should keep:

• the exact date of delivery or of the contract;
• your written cancellation request, with date and time;
• the protocol number the company gave you;
• screenshots of the chat, the e-mail, or the customer service channel you used.

This precaution turns your word into evidence. If the company claims your request arrived after the deadline, the documentation shows otherwise and supports an administrative complaint or a lawsuit, if one becomes necessary.

Another important detail is how you communicate your decision to withdraw. The law does not require any formal wording: you can use the same channel you bought from, whether the website, the app, or the phone. The best approach is to choose a method that generates a receipt and to avoid unrecorded phone calls. Putting your request in writing reduces the risk that the company will deny having received it within the seven days.

The right of withdrawal is the ability to undo a purchase shortly after making it, when the purchase was made remotely.

Getting your money back and who pays for shipping

The sole paragraph of Article 49 is categorical: once you exercise your right of withdrawal, any amounts paid, under any heading, during the cooling-off period must be refunded immediately and adjusted for inflation. This covers not only the price of the product but everything you paid out for that purchase, including the shipping fee charged to send it to you. A partial refund that keeps fees or deducts charges violates the rule.

The most frequent question concerns return shipping, the cost of sending the product back. The prevailing view is that this cost cannot fall on you, because charging it would work as a penalty for exercising a right guaranteed by law. If you had to pay for the return transport, withdrawal would make no sense for low-priced purchases, and the legal protection would exist only on paper.

E-commerce is also governed by specific rules in Decree 7.962 of 2013, which regulates contracting over the internet. It reinforces the duties to provide clear information about the product and the seller, to offer easy customer service, and to respect the right of withdrawal. Among its requirements is that the store provide adequate and effective means for you to state your decision to withdraw, which prevents artificial obstacles on the website or in the app.

Situations that raise the most questions

The first common confusion involves in-person purchases. As a rule, the right of withdrawal under Article 49 does not apply to what you buy inside a physical store, precisely because you had the chance to examine the product before paying. An exchange for any other reason then depends on the company’s policy, unless there is a defect, in which case other protective rules in the Code itself come into play.

Customized products and services already used also tend to cause disagreement. A made-to-order item, with features chosen by the buyer, and a service fully performed within the period call for a case-by-case analysis, always with attention to the good faith of both parties. The safe approach is to examine the specific contract and the way the offer was presented, rather than assuming the right has simply vanished.

Finally, some situations have their own rules. Buying airline tickets, for example, follows a sector-specific regulation that allows cancellation without charge within twenty-four hours of purchase, as long as the ticket was bought a certain amount of time before the flight. These are parallel rules that coexist with the logic of consumer protection and underscore how important it is to check the conditions before closing any remote deal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the right of withdrawal apply to purchases made in a physical store?

As a rule, no. Article 49 of the Consumer Protection Code was designed for remote contracts made outside the seller’s place of business, such as those made over the internet, by phone, or at your home. In a physical store, you had the opportunity to see and evaluate the product before paying, so returning it simply because you changed your mind depends on the company’s exchange policy. The situation is different when there is a defect, because specific rules on product defects then apply.

Do I have to explain why I backed out of the purchase?

No. You exercise the right of withdrawal by your own will, with no need to give a reason. The company cannot make the return conditional on a convincing explanation or refuse your request because it finds your reason insufficient. All that matters is that you give notice within the seven days counted from delivery or from the contract. Even so, it is prudent to submit your cancellation in writing and keep the receipt, so the store cannot later claim your request arrived late.

Can the store charge me for return shipping?

The prevailing view is that it cannot. Charging you the cost of sending the product back would amount to punishing you for using a right guaranteed by law, which would empty the cooling-off protection of meaning. In addition, the sole paragraph of Article 49 requires that amounts paid be refunded immediately and adjusted for inflation, which includes the shipping fee you paid when you bought. If the company refuses, you can file a complaint with consumer protection agencies and, if necessary, go to court.

As informações deste artigo são de caráter informativo e não substituem consulta jurídica individualizada. Cada caso possui particularidades que exigem análise específica.