Is a "No Refund, No Return" Policy Legal in India?

Short answer: a “no refund, no return, no exchange” sign does not override your statutory rights in India. A seller is generally free to refuse a refund for a simple change of mind — there is no universal cooling-off right for retail purchases here. But no policy, term or sticker can defeat a claim where the goods are defective, the service is deficient, or the sale involved an unfair trade practice. In those cases the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 gives you a remedy regardless of what the policy says, and a term that strips those rights can itself be struck down as an unfair contract.

General consumer information, not legal advice. Outcomes turn on what exactly went wrong and what you can prove.

Separate the two situations first

Nearly every argument about refunds collapses once you separate these:

So the honest answer to “is a no-refund policy legal?” is: legal as a commercial term for change-of-mind returns, unenforceable as a shield against a defect. Most people asking the question are in the second column and have been answered as if they were in the first.

The provisions that do the work

• Defect — section 2(10) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019: any fault, imperfection or shortcoming in the quality, quantity, potency, purity or standard which is required to be maintained by law or under a contract, or as claimed by the trader.
• Deficiency — section 2(11): any fault, imperfection, shortcoming or inadequacy in the quality, nature and manner of performance of a service, including an act of negligence and the withholding of relevant information.
• Unfair trade practice — section 2(47): a long list that includes falsely representing that goods are of a particular standard or quality, and refusing to withdraw defective goods or to withdraw or discontinue deficient services and to refund the consideration within the period stipulated or, where none is stipulated, within thirty days.
• Unfair contract — section 2(46): a contract between a manufacturer or trader or service provider and a consumer containing terms that cause a significant change in the rights of the consumer, including imposing a penalty disproportionate to the loss, refusing to accept early repayment of debts, entitling one party to terminate unilaterally, or imposing an unreasonable charge or obligation which puts the consumer at a disadvantage.

That third bullet is the one to memorise. The refusal to refund is not merely a breach of contract — the Act names it as an unfair trade practice in its own right, with a default thirty-day yardstick where no period was stipulated.

What the e-commerce rules add

The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 impose disclosure and conduct duties on marketplaces and on sellers who use them. Among the ones that matter in a refund fight:

• The platform and seller must display the return, refund, exchange, warranty and guarantee policy clearly, before the consumer buys. A policy that appears only after payment, or that is buried, is not a disclosed policy.
• Sellers must not refuse to take back goods or withdraw services, or refuse to refund, where the goods or services are defective, deficient, spurious, or not of the characteristics or features advertised.
• A platform must not impose a cancellation charge on a consumer cancelling after confirming the purchase unless it bears a similar charge itself when it cancels unilaterally.
• Where the platform accepts payment, refunds must be effected within a reasonable period as prescribed by the RBI or other authority.
• A grievance officer must be named with contact details, must acknowledge a complaint within 48 hours, and must redress it within one month.

Together these mean a marketplace cannot hide behind “the seller’s policy is no returns” when the item was defective or misdescribed.

Where a no-refund policy is genuinely enforceable

Being accurate matters, because overclaiming loses cases. A refusal to refund is usually lawful when:

• The item is as described and undamaged and you simply changed your mind, and the seller disclosed the no-return policy before purchase.
• The category is legitimately excluded for hygiene or safety reasons — innerwear, cosmetics that have been opened, perishables — and the exclusion was disclosed up front.
• The item was made to order or personalised to your specification.
• A digital product has been delivered and consumed, and the terms said so before purchase.
• The stated return window has genuinely expired and no defect is alleged.
• It was a clearance sale of goods sold “as is” with the specific defect disclosed.

Even in these cases, disclosure is doing the work. An exclusion that was not visible before you paid is on much weaker ground.

How to actually get the money back

1. Write, do not call. One message stating the order number, what is wrong, and precisely what you want: “refund of ₹X to the original payment method within 7 days”.
2. Use the statutory words. Say the goods are defective or the service deficient, and that a refusal to refund is an unfair trade practice under section 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. It changes who reads the ticket.
3. Photograph and keep everything — the item, the packaging, the label, the listing page as it appeared when you bought, the chat.
4. Escalate to the named grievance officer and start the 48-hour and one-month clocks running against them, in writing.
5. If you paid by card, consider a chargeback for non-delivery or not-as-described, through your issuer. Note there is no chargeback mechanism on a UPI push payment.
6. Register on 1915 if the month passes.
7. File on e-Daakhil. Free up to ₹5 lakh, no lawyer needed, and you may file where you live.

Frequently asked questions

Is a no-refund policy legal in India?

It is enforceable for change-of-mind returns if it was disclosed before you paid. It is not enforceable against a claim of defective goods or deficient service: the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 treats refusing to withdraw defective goods and refund the consideration as an unfair trade practice, whatever the policy says.

Does India have a cooling-off period for online purchases?

There is no general statutory cooling-off right for ordinary retail or e-commerce purchases in India. Return windows offered by platforms are contractual, not statutory. Specific sectors — notably certain insurance products — do have their own free-look periods set by their regulator.

The shop had a “no return, no exchange” sign. Can I still complain?

Yes, if the product was defective, not as described, or the sale involved an unfair trade practice. A displayed sign is a contractual term; it cannot remove the statutory remedies that the Consumer Protection Act gives you, and a term that significantly alters your rights can be examined as an unfair contract.

How long does a seller have to refund me?

Whatever period was stipulated. Where nothing is stipulated, section 2(47) of the Act uses thirty days as the yardstick for refusing to refund the consideration for defective goods or deficient services. Separately, an e-commerce grievance officer must redress a complaint within one month of receiving it.

Can a marketplace blame the seller and refuse to help?

It can try, and the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 make that harder: the platform has its own disclosure, grievance-handling and conduct obligations. When you escalate or file, name both the seller and the marketplace as parties.

Can a company charge me a cancellation fee?

Not merely for cancelling after confirming a purchase, unless the platform bears similar charges when it cancels unilaterally — that is an express prohibition in the 2020 e-commerce rules. A disproportionate penalty can also be attacked as an unfair contract term under section 2(46).