萬國法律事務所

According to Article 19 of the Consumer Protection Law, buyers of goods in a mail order or a door-to-door sale, if unwilling to purchase the goods received, may return the goods or send a written notice to the seller instructing the seller to rescind the purchase contract within 7 days upon buyer’s receipt of the goods, and buyer is not required to give any reason for the return or be responsible for any expense or the purchase price. However, the Executive Yuan passed a draft amendment of the Consumer Protection Law on May 23, 2013, which, if enacted, will empower authorities to declare that certain goods or services can be excluded from the“7-day appreciation period”.

The “special goods or services” primarily consist of 3C products and perishable fresh foods. 3C products generally refer to reproducible products such as e-books, App programs, games, and software. However, if the goods are defective, the Civil Law still applies so that buyers can obtain a refund within 6 months. The present Consumer Protection Law will be amended to refer to “communication purchases” rather than “mail order purchases”, which new term includes transactions in which business operators utilize radios, television broadcasts, telephones, facsimiles, catalogs, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, flyers, and other similar means of communication.