Which Legal Pages Are Mandatory for an Online Store in Romania (ANPC SAL, Returns, Withdrawal Button)

To sell online to consumers in Romania in 2026, your store needs full company details, the ANPC SAL pictogram on the home page linking to ANPC's complaints platform, terms and conditions with the legally required pre-contract information, a 14-day returns (withdrawal) policy with the model withdrawal form and, since 19 June 2026, an online withdrawal button labelled "withdraw from the contract here". The ODR (SOL) link that older checklists still mention is no longer required: the EU platform closed on 20 July 2025 and ANPC removed it from its rules in May 2026. A GDPR privacy policy and a cookie banner come on top of all this.

For an online store, the most expensive mistake isn't an unsold product. It's an ANPC (consumer protection authority) inspection that finds gaps nobody ever explained to you. The good news: none of it is complicated, and once it's set up properly, you only need to touch it when the law changes. Below is each item, what it has to contain and what changed in 2026.

The checklist at a glance

1. Who you are: company identification

Before any button, a buyer needs to know who they're dealing with. Romania's e-commerce law (Law 365/2002, art. 5) requires easy, direct, permanent and free access to at least:

• Your company name
• The registered office address
• Phone, email and any other details needed to contact you directly
• The Trade Register number and the tax code (CUI)
• The authority that issued your authorisation, if your activity needs one

ANPC Order 225/2023 adds a visibility rule for anyone selling online: the business name, CUI, registration number, the address where you actually operate, and the series, number and issuer of every permit, licence or certificate your activity requires must be in the customer's field of view at first contact, before they place an order. Not hidden behind other content, and not something they have to search for.

In practice:

• Put the company details in the footer and on a "Contact" or "About" page
• Use a real email and a phone number you actually answer
• State the exact legal form (SRL, PFA, II), not just a brand name

2. The ANPC SAL pictogram, and why the ODR one is gone

SAL (Soluționarea Alternativă a Litigiilor) is alternative dispute resolution: a customer with a complaint can turn to ANPC's SAL service instead of going to court. ANPC Order 449/2022 requires every business that sells, takes orders or advertises products online to show the SAL pictogram on the home page.

ANPC Order 270/2026, in force since 19 May 2026, updated the rule. What applies now:

• The pictogram measures 250 × 50 pixels
• It must link to the SAL platform at reclamatiisal.anpc.ro
• You download the current version for free from anpc.ro

The second pictogram, SOL (the EU's Online Dispute Resolution platform, ODR), is no longer needed. EU Regulation 2024/3228 repealed the ODR rules from 20 July 2025, the platform stopped accepting new complaints on 20 March 2025, and Order 270/2026 removed the SOL references from ANPC's rules. Many checklists online still list it. They're out of date.

What to do on an existing store:

• Replace the old SAL badge (often linked to anpc.ro/ce-este-sal) with the new one linking to reclamatiisal.anpc.ro
• Remove the SOL / ODR badge and the link to ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr: the platform it pointed to no longer exists
• Delete the ODR paragraph from your terms and conditions
• Keep the badge in the site-wide footer, so it shows on the home page and on every other page too

One exception: businesses in sectors that have their own dedicated dispute resolution body are exempt from this ANPC order. For a typical online shop, it applies.

3. Terms and conditions: what you owe the customer before the order

OUG 34/2014 (art. 6) lists what customers must be told before they're bound by a contract. Your terms and conditions, product pages and checkout together have to cover it, in Romanian, clearly and in plain language. The main items:

• The main features of the product, and your identity and contact details
• The total price with all taxes, plus delivery costs or how they're calculated
• Payment and delivery arrangements, and the date by which you deliver
• Any delivery restrictions and the payment methods you accept, shown at the latest when the ordering process starts (art. 8(3))
• The conditions, deadline and procedure for withdrawal, the model withdrawal form and, since 19 June 2026, where the withdrawal button is
• A reminder that the legal guarantee of conformity exists, plus any after-sales service or commercial guarantee
• How you handle complaints

The final button matters too. Under art. 8(2), the button that places the order must be labelled only "comandă ce implică o obligație de plată" ("order with obligation to pay") or an equally unambiguous wording that makes clear the order means paying. If it isn't, the customer has no obligation under the order. A vague "Continue" or "Next" doesn't meet the rule.

4. The returns policy: the 14-day right of withdrawal

Anyone buying from you at a distance can withdraw within 14 days, without giving a reason and without a penalty. The legal basis is OUG 34/2014, which transposes the EU Consumer Rights Directive. Your returns page has to spell out:

• When the 14 days start: the day the customer (or someone they name, other than the courier) receives the goods; for one order delivered in several parcels, the day the last one arrives
• How to withdraw: with the model withdrawal form from Part B of the ordinance's annex, with any other clear statement, or with the online withdrawal button
• Where to send the product: the customer has 14 days from telling you they're withdrawing
• Who pays return shipping: the customer pays only the direct cost of returning the goods, and only if you told them so beforehand; otherwise it's on you
• Refunds: everything paid, including standard delivery, within 14 days of being told, by the same payment method unless the customer agrees otherwise. You can hold the refund until the goods are back or the customer shows proof of sending, whichever comes first. You don't have to refund the extra cost of an express delivery the customer chose
• Which exceptions apply to what you sell

If you don't tell customers about their right of withdrawal at all, it doesn't end after 14 days: it is extended by 12 months (art. 10).

The legal exceptions (art. 16) include, among others:

• Goods made to the customer's specifications or clearly personalised
• Goods that can spoil or expire quickly
• Sealed goods that can't be returned for health or hygiene reasons once unsealed
• Sealed audio, video or software that the customer unsealed after delivery
• Newspapers and magazines, except subscriptions
• Digital content not supplied on a physical medium, once delivery has started with the customer's express consent and their acknowledgement that they lose the right to withdraw

A "no returns accepted" line on your site exempts you from nothing. The right is set by law and can only be limited in the cases the law allows. For the practical setup, see 14-day returns and refunds: how to set up the policy and form.

5. The withdrawal button, mandatory since 19 June 2026

OUG 18/2026, published in Monitorul Oficial no. 236 of 26 March 2026, added art. 11^1 to OUG 34/2014. Since 19 June 2026, any store that sells through a website or app must offer an online withdrawal function. Writing "email us if you want to return something" no longer covers it. What the law asks for:

• A clearly visible button or link labelled "retrageți-vă din contract aici" ("withdraw from the contract here") or an equally unambiguous wording, easy to read and easy to reach
• Available throughout the withdrawal period, not tucked away on a page nobody finds
• An online statement in which the customer gives or confirms their name, the order they're withdrawing from, and the email (or other electronic channel) where the confirmation should go
• A separate confirmation step labelled "confirmați retragerea" ("confirm withdrawal")
• An acknowledgement sent without undue delay on a durable medium (an email works), showing what was submitted and the date and time it was sent

The withdrawal counts as made on time if the customer sends it before the period runs out, and your pre-contract information has to say that the function exists and where to find it. A missing or non-compliant withdrawal function can bring a fine of 5,000 to 15,000 lei.

In practice, put the link in the footer, in the customer account and in the order confirmation email, and make sure customers who checked out as guests can use it too, for example with their order number and email. If you're building your store now, ask for the button from the start. It's much cheaper than adding it in a rush after an inspection.

6. Prices and discounts

• Show prices with VAT and all taxes included, and make delivery costs clear before the order
• When you announce a discount, the "before" price must be the lowest price you charged for that product, in the same sales area (for an online shop, your site), in the 30 days before the reduction (HG 686/2022, which amended HG 947/2000)
• Exceptions: for perishable goods, the reference period is the last 10 days; for products on sale for less than 30 days, the lowest price in that shorter period, and you have to say which period it was; for a reduction that grows during the same campaign, the price before the first reduction

7. Guarantees, and the product information required since 27 September 2026

Goods sold to consumers carry a 2-year legal guarantee of conformity from delivery, and a defect that shows up within the first year is presumed to have existed at delivery (OUG 140/2021). Your terms should say so, and they can't promise less.

Since 27 September 2026, OUG 18/2026 has also changed what you show before purchase (art. 6 of OUG 34/2014):

• The mention of the 2-year legal guarantee has to be shown visibly, using the harmonised EU notice. This applies to every store selling goods
• If the manufacturer offers a free commercial durability guarantee longer than two years and passes that information to you, show it with the harmonised EU label
• For goods with digital elements, the minimum period during which software updates are provided, where the manufacturer or supplier gives you that information
• Where it applies, the product's repairability score; otherwise, if the manufacturer provides it, the availability and estimated cost of spare parts, how to order them, whether repair and maintenance instructions are available and any repair restrictions

From the same date, broad environmental claims such as "eco-friendly" or "sustainable" need solid proof behind them, which is worth checking if your product descriptions use them.

8. Your company's activity code (CAEN Rev. 3)

This isn't a page on the site, but it often comes up when opening a store. Romania has moved to the CAEN Rev. 3 classification, and code 4791, which used to mean retail sale via mail order or the internet, now means intermediation in non-specialised retail trade. Online shops are classified by the products they sell, not by the sales channel. The Trade Register (ONRC) set 25 September 2026 as the deadline for updating activity codes; since that date, public authorities work with the CAEN Rev. 3 version. If your company still lists the old 4791 for online retail, ask your accountant to update it.

9. Privacy policy and cookies

This article isn't about GDPR, which is a separate topic. You still need a privacy policy and a cookie banner that lets visitors refuse non-essential cookies. The essentials are in GDPR for small websites.

What a missing item can cost

Fines under OUG 34/2014 (art. 28), as amended in 2026:

What it costs to get it all in order

Good news: nothing on the list above is expensive. It's configuration work, not reinventing the wheel.

When we build a store, the company details, the SAL badge, the returns page, the withdrawal button and a correctly labelled order button are part of the build. And maintenance exists for moments like May and June 2026, when the SAL rule and the withdrawal button changed within weeks of each other: we make the update, so you don't hear about it from an inspector.

If you already have a store and aren't sure what's missing, or you want a new one built correctly from scratch, message us on WhatsApp and we'll make you a free demo of your store, with all the legal pages in place: wa.me/40750257140.

See also: how much a website costs and why I need a website.