A draft law is in the legislative process[1] that transposes a directive into the Czech legal system bringing fundamental changes to the area of concluding contracts in the online environment. Some of these changes will affect all operators of e-shops and other online platforms, who will now be obliged to provide consumers with extended pre-contractual information and introduce a separate withdrawal button. The new obligations are to come into force in mid-June, i.e. in less than three months. What does this mean practically?
The new European rules respond to the growing number of contracts concluded in the digital environment and aim to strengthen consumer protection when shopping online. In this respect, the bill regulates the existing conditions for withdrawal from a contract, which allow consumers to cancel concluded contracts and return purchased goods without giving a reason within 14 days of receiving them. All entrepreneurs who sell their products or services online will now be obliged to introduce an easy withdrawal button on their websites and applications and to properly inform consumers about the existence of this possibility.
Contract Withdrawal News
The bill introduces a new obligation for all entrepreneurs who conclude distance contracts via an online interface, such as a website or mobile application. They will have to offer consumers a clear and permanently accessible withdrawal function that is easy to find and use for as long as consumers can exercise their right of withdrawal.
To comply with the new obligations, entrepreneurs should ensure that consumers do not have to take unnecessary steps when using the withdrawal function – for example, downloading an app or re-identifying themselves in a complicated way. If the consumer is already logged into his user account, he should not be forced to fill in his data again in order to exercise his right of withdrawal. The withdrawal button must allow consumers to easily withdraw from all or part of the contract (i.e. only from specific selected products) if the 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 clear button for withdrawal in the user account or in the list of orders within the application, as many e-shops already have. Subsequently, in a second step, the consumer should unequivocally confirm his intention to withdraw from the contract, for example by clicking on the "I confirm withdrawal" button. After the withdrawal from the contract, consumers must be served with an acknowledgement of acceptance of the withdrawal without undue delay, stating the date and time when the consumer sent the withdrawal and the content of the withdrawal.
What do entrepreneurs have to do?
Entrepreneurs offering to conclude contracts online should prepare in time, especially by introducing an appropriate withdrawal button on their websites or applications. This function must be easily accessible, visible and clear. At the same time, it is necessary to update the terms and conditions and pre-contractual information to include information about the possibility for consumers to withdraw from the contract via the online interface and to specify the location of the relevant button.
In addition, the proposal also brings significant changes for financial service providers, for which it introduces new definitions of prohibited manipulative practices in distance contract negotiation and expands pre-contractual information obligations.
In accordance with the directive, the proposed entry into force of the law is 19 June 2026. However, the bill has not yet passed the first reading in the Chamber of Deputies and it remains to be seen whether it will be adopted by the originally proposed date. However, given that meeting the new obligations will require technical intervention in the functioning of e-shops, it is high time to start preparing for these changes now and not leave everything to the last minute.
If you have any questions about the upcoming changes or need help with the implementation of new obligations, do not hesitate to contact us and our team of experts will be happy to help you with everything.
- [1] – Parliamentary Document 16/0 available here: https://www.psp.cz/sqw/text/tiskt.sqw?O=10&CT=16&CT1=0
