In the Future, Returning Holiday Gift Sets Requires Prior Agreement on 'Deadline, Procedure, and Cost Responsibility'

Fair Trade Commission to Implement Revised 'Return Guidelines' on the 10th

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[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] In the future, even for direct purchase items such as holiday gift sets, large-scale retailers must pre-agree on return conditions with suppliers, including return targets, deadlines, procedures, and cost burdens.

The Fair Trade Commission announced on the 9th that it has finalized and will implement from the 10th the revised "Guidelines for Reviewing the Illegality of Return Practices by Large-Scale Retailers." Previously, the FTC had publicly notified the draft revision of the return guidelines from the 17th of last month until the 7th of this month.

First, the revision clarifies the meaning of return conditions that large-scale retailers must specifically agree upon with suppliers in advance when returns are exceptionally allowed. It specifies that return conditions refer to the target and timing (deadline) of returns, procedures, cost burdens, etc., and that these should be described as clearly and specifically as possible to prevent suppliers from incurring unforeseen damages.

The revision also specifically presents the return conditions that must be agreed upon when concluding direct purchase contracts. For holiday gift sets, the return deadline should be "within 30 days from the end of the holiday," the return procedure should be "returned products are stored in the retailer's logistics warehouse, and after confirming the returned products at that location, they are handed over to the supplier," and the cost burden should be "the cost of transporting the products to the return location is borne by the retailer, and costs incurred thereafter related to the return are borne by the supplier."

Additionally, when judging 'seasonal products' such as Christmas trees and Valentine's Day chocolates, for which returns are exceptionally allowed in direct purchases, the monthly and quarterly sales volume, inventory volume, and purchase volume of the products should be comprehensively considered.

An FTC official said, "With this revision of the return guidelines, we expect transparency and consistency in law enforcement regarding unfair trade practices related to returns to be enhanced," and added, "It will have a preventive effect so that suppliers do not suffer unexpected damages due to unfair return practices."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.