All EU citizens who make distant and off-premises purchases (including ones made over the Internet) will have the right to return the goods within 14 business days of receipt without giving any reason and without any costs.

The provision is part of a new EU directive aimed at increasing consumer protection in distance (including on-line) and off-premises purchases.

The directive was adopted by the Council of the European Union on Monday.

Apart from online trade, the new rules also apply to goods purchased through mail-order catalogs, through cut-out coupons in newspapers, or goods bought over the phone.

The new legislation also extends to purchases stimulated by radio and TV adverts telling consumers that they will be eligible to a certain discount if they call within 10 or so minutes.

In its current form, Bulgaria's Consumer Protection Act sets a twice shorter period for a right of withdrawal in such cases, provided that the customer has filed a written notification to the trader within 7 days of receiving exhaustive information about the return policy of the company and its full name and address.

If the trader has failed to send the required information to the customer, the distant/off-premise purchase can be cancelled within 3 months without any costs, according to experts from the Commission for Consumer Protection, as cited by Sega daily.

The new EU directive states that the trader must deliver the goods to the consumer no later than 30 days from the conclusion of the contract.

If the deadline has not been observed, the consumer will be entitled to terminate the contract and the trader will reimburse all sums paid under the contract.

Under the new rules, if the trader operates a telephone line, the consumer does not have to pay more than the basic rate when he contacts the trader, taking account of the right of telecommunication services providers to charge for such calls.