Returning or exchanging a non-defective item bought in a shop (didn’t fit): what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Main point: withdrawal without reason within 14 calendar days applies only to distance and off-premises contracts (Law of Georgia on the Protection of Consumer Rights, Art. 13). A purchase in a sales hall does not fall under this. The law does not allow you to return or exchange a non-defective item that does not fit or that you no longer like. Georgia has no “exchange of non-defective goods” of the Russian type.
2. Exceptions: a contract concluded in a shop immediately after an offer made by the trader outside the shop is an off-premises contract (Art. 4). An order placed on a website with pickup is a distance contract (the right of withdrawal applies).
3. The right of return arises only from the shop’s own policy: the trader must inform you of the withdrawal conditions, if any, before the contract is concluded (Art. 5), and this information forms part of the contract (Art. 5). A voluntary obligation beyond the law to refund the price or replace the goods is a commercial guarantee (Art. 4), and the trader must honour it, including the terms stated in advertising (Art. 19). Alternatively, you may agree on a purchase “subject to approval” within an agreed period (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 520). Find the return rules on the receipt, at the till, on the website, or in advertising, and demand exactly those.
4. Check whether there is a defect: the goods must correspond to the description and the sample. Non-conformity with the label or description is already a defect (Consumer Rights Law, Art. 16). In that case, you may require repair or replacement, a price reduction, or withdrawal from the contract (Art. 17). A term excluding claims for improper performance (“not subject to exchange”) is void (Art. 22).
5. Procedure: written application to the shop referring to its rules → Competition and Consumer Protection Agency (კონკურენციისა და მომხმარებლის დაცვის სააგენტო) (Consumer Rights Law, Art. 28), or court.
6. Where to apply: the shop → Agency → district (city) court.
7. Evidence: receipt; tags; packaging; photos of the return rules (till, website); advertising promising an exchange; correspondence.
8. Pitfalls: transferring the Russian-style “exchange of non-defective goods” to Georgia; confusing it with an online purchase, where withdrawal without reason does exist; failing to record the shop’s return rules before a dispute arises.

Be sure to check

• by law there is no right to return or exchange a non-defective item bought in a sales hall; withdrawal without reason applies only to distance and off-premises contracts
• the return policy announced by the shop (receipt, signs, advertising) is binding on it
• if the item does not match the description or the tag, this is a defect, and “not subject to exchange” does not cancel such claims
• where to complain if the shop breaches its own return rules