Return and cancellation rights in Saudi Arabia: the 7-day rule

The law behind your rights

Online shopping in Saudi Arabia is governed by the E-Commerce Law, issued by Royal Decree M/126 on 7/11/1440 AH (10 July 2019), and by its Implementing Regulations, issued by Minister of Commerce Decision 200 of 19/5/1441 AH (January 2020). The Ministry of Commerce supervises the sector ([E-Commerce Law](https://misa.gov.sa/app/uploads/2025/07/E-Commerce-Law.pdf), Art. 16).

Article 2 applies the Law to service providers in the Kingdom and to practitioners outside the Kingdom who offer products or services to consumers in the Kingdom. Whether the Ministry can enforce a ruling against a store with no Saudi presence is not confirmed.

Two rules matter most to a shopper: the 7-day cancellation right in Article 13, and the late-delivery right in Article 14. A store's own policy can give more, such as IKEA's 365 days.

The 7-day right to cancel and return

Article 13(1) lets you rescind within 7 days of receiving the product, or of the contract date for a service, provided you have not used the product, received the service or benefited from either. It applies without prejudice to warranties, so a faulty product stays covered after the 7 days.

The cost of rescinding, usually return shipping, falls on you unless agreed otherwise. Some stores waive it: Trendyol says returns are free with its return label, and SHEIN makes the first return of each order free from Saudi Arabia, then deducts SAR 20 or SAR 30 for later returns from the same order. Metro Brazil asks you to prepay SAR 30 for a return.

Article 7 of the Regulations makes the store state, before you buy, the right to rescind, the costs you would bear and the steps to take, or that an exception applies. Article 8 requires a saveable invoice that includes a summary of the exchange and return rules, the delivery date, and the carrier's name and tracking details where they exist ([Implementing Regulations](https://qadha.org.sa/files/shares/%D9%86%D8%B8%D8%A7%D9%85%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A9%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9%20%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%AD%D8%AA%D9%87%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%86%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%B0%D9%8A%D8%A9.pdf)).

One wording difference to know: a 2021 Ministry news item described the 7 days as running from the date of purchase or contract ([MoC, Aug 2021](https://mc.gov.sa/ar/mediacenter/News/Pages/19-08-21-01.aspx)). The Law's text says from receipt of the product. This guide follows the Law's text; if your order took a long time to arrive, count from the delivery date and keep proof of it.

What you cannot return under the 7-day rule

Article 13(2) of the Law lists cases where the 7-day right does not apply, and Article 11 of the Regulations adds more, "unless agreed otherwise", so a store may still accept those returns. The table below sets out both lists.

The Regulations do not name categories such as perfume, makeup or underwear. Stores decide how the health-reasons exception applies. Nice One, for example, does not accept returns of beauty and personal-care products even when sealed, unless they arrive damaged, and Golden Scent accepts returns only for faulty, damaged or wrong items reported within 24 hours. Nana, a grocery app, generally refuses returns of perishables but refunds damaged, wrong or missing items reported within 24 hours with photos.

Hotel bookings, travel tickets, car rental, transport and event services fall outside the 7-day rule, so the provider's own fare rules decide. flyadeal, for instance, allows a full refund on any fare cancelled within 24 hours of booking when departure is at least 7 days away.

Whether a store policy shorter than 7 days is valid for goods that are not on either list has no published Ministry ruling that we found. If a store refuses a return that seems to fall inside Article 13(1), the complaint channels below are the route.

Late delivery: the 15-day rule

Under Article 14(1), unless you agreed a different delivery date, you may rescind the contract if delivery or performance is more than 15 days late, counted from the date of the contract or from the agreed date. You may recover what you paid and any other costs the delay caused you. The only exception in the text is force majeure.

Article 14(2) also requires the store to warn you of any expected delay or difficulty that would affect delivery. The Ministry has enforced both parts: in August 2021 it made one e-store return over SAR 500,000 after 735 late-delivery complaints, and in February 2022 it fined 12 e-stores and ordered refunds after 418 complaints that they had ignored cancellation requests, failed to warn of delays and issued no invoices ([MoC, March 2022](https://mc.gov.sa/ar/mediacenter/News/Pages/06-03-22-01.aspx)).

Refund timing, payment method and ordering mistakes

Neither the Law nor the Regulations, in the compiled text we read (updated 1/2/1448 AH), sets a number of days for paying the refund. In November 2020 the Ministry consulted on an amendment that would require a refund within 14 days, to the same payment method unless you agree otherwise, with no added fees ([MoC, Nov 2020](https://mc.gov.sa/en/mediacenter/News/Pages/24-11-20-01.aspx)). We could not confirm that this amendment was adopted, so treat 14 days as a proposal, not a rule.

Stores publish their own timings. Amazon.sa says card refunds appear in 3 to 5 business days, or in about 4 hours to the Amazon balance. Cash-on-delivery orders are often refunded differently: Level Shoes refunds them as an e-gift card, and Jarir refunds instalment and voucher purchases as store credit. Faces refunds the product value only, not shipping or COD fees.

If you make a typing mistake in your order, Article 4 of the Regulations accepts your correction if you report it within 24 hours of sending the order, as long as you have not used the product. A store may also reserve the right to fix its own unintended error, such as a wrong price, but only if it tells you before shipping; you then choose between continuing at the corrected terms or cancelling with a full refund.

How to claim and where to complain

Start with the store, in writing, within the 7 days, and keep the invoice, the delivery date and photos of the item. Quote Article 13 or Article 14 of the E-Commerce Law. If the store refuses, the Ministry of Commerce's official channels are the 1900 call centre and the «بلاغ تجاري» (Commercial Complaint) app, which lets you attach photos and follow your report ([MoC apps page](https://mc.gov.sa/ar/pages/MobileApps.aspx)).

Since 3 September 2023, the app and 1900 act on e-store reports for stores verified on the Saudi Business Center's Business Platform. Check a store at eauthenticate.saudibusiness.gov.sa/inquiry before you buy, and never pay into a personal bank account ([MoC, Sept 2023](https://mc.gov.sa/en/mediacenter/News/Pages/03-09-23-01.aspx)). Breaches of the Law can bring a warning, a fine of up to SAR 1,000,000, suspension, or blocking of the e-shop (Art. 18).

Questions shoppers ask