EU Withdrawal form

Overview

Under EU Directive (EU) 2023/2673 (amending Directive 2011/83/EU), any store selling online to EU consumers must let them withdraw from a purchase within 14 days — without giving a reason. From 19 June 2026 this is mandatory. You may not force EU customers to state a reason, contact support, or fill in a survey before they cancel.

The EU Withdrawal form makes your store compliant with a single toggle. When you enable it, Synctrack reuses your existing return portal, emails, and management screen — for orders shipping to the EU-27, it turns the return into a short 2-step withdrawal: the reason is optional, the resolution and return method are set automatically, and the buyer gets a valid withdrawal confirmation. Orders outside the EU keep your normal return flow.

What you'll learn

• How to enable the EU Withdrawal form
• How it works
• Who can use this feature?

How to enable the EU Withdrawal form

Step 1: Go to EU Withdrawal form

Open the EU Withdrawal form page in your Synctrack Returns admin. The page explains what EU law requires and the risk of non-compliance.

Step 2: Click Enable EU Withdrawal

Click Enable EU Withdrawal. The status switches to Enabled and the withdrawal rules apply to all EU orders automatically — there is nothing else to configure. The setting persists after reload.

How it works

Once enabled, the feature runs in the background on your existing return portal. For orders shipping to the EU-27, the buyer follows a short 2-step withdrawal flow:

1. A buyer opens your return portal and enters their email + order number — no login or verification code required.
2. Synctrack matches the order and detects its country in this order: shipping address → billing address → customer default address, then checks it against the EU-27.
3. If the order is in the EU-27, the buyer selects the item(s) and quantity to withdraw. Stating a reason is optional — they can continue without one.
4. The buyer goes straight to the Review screen — the steps for choosing a resolution and a return method are skipped. On Review, the resolution is pre-set to "Refund to original payment method" and the return method to "Ship with any carrier". The buyer ticks the confirmation checkbox and submits.
5. On the Done screen the buyer sees a withdrawal confirmation: the order, the email the confirmation was sent to, the 14-day refund timeframe, the return address (from your existing return settings), a durable-medium note, and a fixed link to EU Directive 2011/83/EU.

Step 3: Add the withdrawal button to your storefront

Enabling the feature makes the withdrawal flow work. Adding the button makes it findable — EU buyers should not have to hunt for it.
Step 1: Match the button to your storefront. The Button styling card controls how the floating button looks. You can set its label, colours, shape and where it sits on the page. The live preview next to the card updates as you change each setting, so you can see the result before saving — no need to publish and reload your storefront to check.
Step 1: On the EU Withdrawal form page, find the Storefront button card and click Enable in Theme editor. Shopify opens your theme with the Synctrack EU Withdrawal Button app embed selected.
Step 2: Switch the app embed on and save your theme.
Step 3: Back in Synctrack, the card shows the embed as active.
The button then appears as a floating button on your storefront and takes the buyer straight into the withdrawal flow.
If you skip this step, nothing appears on your storefront. The withdrawal flow still works for anyone who reaches the return portal directly, but no button is shown. This is the single most common reason merchants report "I turned it on and nothing happened".

Spotting withdrawal requests in Return Management

Withdrawal requests sit in your normal request list, but they are labelled: each one carries an EU Withdrawal badge, both in the list and on the request detail page.
You can also narrow the list to withdrawal requests only, using the EU Withdrawal filter. This matters in practice because withdrawal requests run on a legal 14-day refund clock, while your ordinary returns run on your own policy.

Who can use this feature?

Available on Professional Plan and above

FAQs

1. Does this create a separate withdrawal portal or email?

No. The feature reuses your existing return portal, return/exchange emails, and return management screen. EU withdrawal requests appear in your normal return management list — there is no new surface to manage.

2. How does Synctrack decide which orders are "EU orders"?

After the order is matched, Synctrack derives the country from the shipping address first, then billing, then the customer's default address, and compares it against the EU-27 list. Only EU-27 orders trigger the withdrawal behavior.

3. What happens to orders outside the EU?

They are unchanged. The reason field stays required and the buyer sees your standard return confirmation, with no withdrawal or legal content.

4. The reason field is now optional — does the buyer still have to choose items?

Yes. Only the reason becomes optional for EU orders. The buyer still selects the item(s) and submits the request as usual; the request flows into your return management normally.

5. Where do the return address and refund timeframe on the confirmation come from?

The return address is taken from the return address already configured in your return settings. The refund timeframe follows the EU 14-day standard.

6. Why can't I see the Enable button?

The feature is available on the Professional plan and above. On Free or Starter plans the button is locked with an upgrade prompt, though you can still read the legal guidance on the page.

7. Do EU buyers still choose a resolution and return method?

No. For EU-27 orders those two steps are removed from the flow. On the Review screen the resolution is set to "Refund to original payment method" and the return method to "Ship with any carrier" automatically, so the buyer only selects the items, optionally adds a reason, confirms, and submits.

Updated on: 19/08/2026