A bill to transpose a directive into the Czech legal system and to bring fundamental changes in online contracting is entering the legislative procedure. Some of these changes will affect all operators of e-shops and other online platforms, who will be obliged to provide consumers with enhanced pre-contractual information and to introduce a dedicated function for withdrawal from a contract. What does this mean in practice?
The new EU rules react to the growing number of contracts concluded in the digital environment and aim to strengthen the protection of consumers shopping online. In this respect, the bill modifies the existing conditions for withdrawal from the contract, which allow consumers to cancel concluded contracts and return purchased goods without giving a reason within 14 days of receipt. All businesses that sell their products or services online will now be required to introduce a function for easy withdrawal from a contract on their websites and apps and to notify consumers accordingly.
New developments in withdrawals
The bill introduces a new obligation for all businesses who conclude contracts at a distance through online interfaces, for example through websites or mobile apps. The businesses will have to offer consumers a clear and permanently accessible withdrawal function that will be easy to find and use throughout the period during which consumers are entitled to withdraw from the contract.
To comply with the new obligations, businesses should ensure that consumers do not have to take unnecessary steps when using the withdrawal function – for example, downloading an app or having to identify themselves again in a complicated way. If a consumer is already logged into their user account, they should not have to fill in their details again to exercise the right of withdrawal. The withdrawal function must allow consumers to easily withdraw from the contract in full or in part (i.e. only from specific selected products) if their order contains multiple items.
A suitable solution is, for example, to place a direct hyperlink in the footer on the main page of the online store, or a visible button for withdrawal in the user account or in the overview of orders in the application, as many e-shops have already done. Subsequently, the consumer should explicitly confirm their intention to withdraw from the contract, for example by clicking on the “I confirm my withdrawal” button. Upon withdrawal, consumers must receive confirmation of receipt of the withdrawal without undue delay, ideally by email or other suitable means, such as through a user account.
What do businesses need to do?
Businesses offering online contracts should get ready for the new obligations in time, in particular by introducing an appropriate withdrawal function on their websites or apps. This function must be prominently displayed, easily accessible and available. Furthermore, it is necessary to update the terms and conditions and pre-contractual information to include information on the possibility for consumers to withdraw from the contract by means of an online interface and to specify the location of the relevant function.
In addition, the bill also brings significant changes for financial service providers. It introduces new definitions of prohibited manipulative practices in distance contracting and expands their pre-contractual information obligations.
The transposition of the directive into Czech law should be completed by June 2026 at the latest. Businesses still have quite a lot of time, but since the amendment requires technical intervention in the functioning of e-shops, it is necessary to think about these new obligations and begin getting ready for them now.
