3 min read
Policies
Settings → Policies holds the five pages every Indian online shop should publish: Refund and returns, Privacy, Terms of service, Shipping and Contact information. Each one can be created from a template filled in with your own details.
Templates are a starting point, not legal advice. Read each one, change what does not fit your shop, and ask a lawyer if you are unsure.
What this is for
- Meeting the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules 2020: your business details, a grievance officer, and clear return, refund and delivery terms.
- A privacy notice written for the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023.
- Payment companies such as Razorpay ask for these pages before they approve your account.
How it works
Each policy is a page on your store at its own address, for example
yourshop.in/policies/refund-policy. Published policies appear on their own in your store
footer and above the Place order button at checkout (“By placing your order, you agree to
our …”). They also appear under Policies in the theme editor’s link picker, so you can add
them to a menu.
Set up your policies
Fill in your business details
At the bottom of the page, add your Registered business name if it differs from your store name (for example “Waimers Tech Private Limited”). Your address, email, phone and GSTIN come from Settings → Store details.
Name a grievance officer
The law asks every online shop to name a person customers can complain to. It can be you. Add their name, role, email and phone. They appear in your privacy policy and in your store footer.
Create each policy
Select Create from template next to a policy. The text is filled in with your details:
your return window from Settings → Returns, delivery times from your shipping rates, and
free delivery above an amount if a rate offers it. Anything missing shows in [brackets],
with a list of what to add. Read it through, edit it like any other page, then Save.
Show it on your store
Show on your store is on for a new policy. Turn it off to keep a policy hidden while you work on it. Each policy shows Last updated with the date you last saved it.
What the templates say
| Policy | Filled in from | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Refund and returns | Return window and refund choice in Settings → Returns | How to ask for a return, items that cannot go back, damaged or wrong items, refunds within 7 working days, cancellations, seller details, grievance officer |
| Privacy | Business details, grievance officer | DPDP Act 2023: what you collect and why, consent and how to withdraw it, who you share data with, how long you keep it, the shopper’s rights, the Data Protection Board of India, cookies |
| Terms of service | Return window, delivery times, cash on delivery | Orders, prices with GST, delivery, returns, liability, Indian law, seller details |
| Shipping | Delivery times and free delivery from your shipping rates | Where you deliver, delivery time, charges, cash on delivery, tracking, late or lost parcels |
| Contact information | Store details, grievance officer | How to reach you and your grievance officer |
Common questions
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| I already have a “refund-policy” page from Shopify. | It is used as your refund policy. Pages with the web addresses refund-policy, privacy-policy, terms-of-service, shipping-policy and contact-information are your policies. Old /pages/refund-policy links go to /policies/refund-policy. |
| The setup checklist says Policies is not done. | All five policies must be created and shown on your store. |
| I changed my return window. Does the policy update? | No. Your policy is your own text once saved. Select Start again from template to fill it in with the new window, then save. |