What are e-commerce terms and conditions?
Are online store terms and conditions legally binding in South Africa?
“An agreement is not without legal force and effect merely because it was concluded partly or in whole by means of data messages (s 22(1)). A supplier offering goods or services for sale, for hire or for exchange by way of an electronic transaction must make the following information available to consumers on the web site where such goods or services are offered (s 43(1)); if a supplier fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (1) or (2), the consumer may cancel the transaction within 14 days of receiving the goods or services under the transaction (s 43(3)). A consumer is entitled to cancel without reason and without penalty any transaction and any related credit agreement for the supply of goods within seven days after the date of the receipt of the goods, or of services within seven days after the date of the conclusion of the agreement (s 44(1)). The supplier must execute the order within 30 days after the day on which the supplier received the order, unless the parties have agreed otherwise (s 46(1)). The protection provided to consumers in this Chapter, applies irrespective of the legal system applicable to the agreement in question (s 47).”
“A supplier must not offer to supply, supply, or enter into an agreement to supply, any goods or services on terms that are unfair, unreasonable or unjust (s 48(1)). Any notice to consumers or provision of a consumer agreement that purports to limit in any way the risk or liability of the supplier or any other person, or constitute an assumption of risk or liability by the consumer, must be drawn to the attention of the consumer in a conspicuous manner and form that is likely to attract the attention of an ordinarily alert consumer, before the consumer enters into the transaction or agreement (s 49(1) & (4)). Every consumer has a right to receive goods that are of good quality, in good working order and free of any defects (s 55(2)(b)); within six months after delivery the consumer may return goods that fail to satisfy those requirements, without penalty and at the supplier’s risk and expense (s 56(2)).”
“The processing of personal information of a data subject for the purpose of direct marketing by means of any form of electronic communication, including automatic calling machines, facsimile machines, SMSs or e-mail is prohibited unless the data subject has given his, her or its consent to the processing, or is, subject to subsection (3), a customer of the responsible party (s 69(1)).”
When you need a E-Commerce & Online Store Terms
- You are launching an online store, marketplace, booking site or any website that takes orders or payments from South African customers and need terms that meet the ECTA section 43 disclosure list at checkout.
- You sell to consumers and must build in the ECTA section 44 seven-day cooling-off right and the Consumer Protection Act’s return and defective-goods rights, instead of relying on a "no refunds" policy that is unlawful here.
- You collect customer data — names, addresses, payment details — or send marketing emails or SMSes, and need a POPIA-aligned privacy notice and section 69 opt-in marketing consent woven into your terms.
- You are using imported or template terms and conditions and need them localised to South African law, because foreign "no cooling-off" and choice-of-foreign-law clauses do not strip a local consumer of ECTA and CPA protection.
- You operate a subscription, digital-goods or SaaS store and need terms that handle recurring billing, the limits of the cooling-off right for digital content, and the line between a sale of goods and a supply of services.
- You want to limit liability, set delivery and risk terms and resolve disputes in your favour, but in a way that survives CPA section 48/49 fairness and conspicuous-notice scrutiny.
What a E-Commerce & Online Store Terms should contain
Supplier identity and mandatory ECTA section 43 disclosures
Publishes the information ECTA section 43(1) makes compulsory: full name and legal status, registration number, physical address for service, contact details, a clear description of the goods or services, the full price including taxes, transport and all other costs, payment method, delivery timeframe, the return/refund policy, security and privacy arrangements, and the consumer’s section 44 cooling-off rights. Omitting these lets the consumer cancel within 14 days under section 43(3).
Order process, checkout review and acceptance
Describes how an order is placed and when a binding contract forms, and gives the consumer the section 43(2) opportunity to review the whole transaction, correct mistakes and withdraw before finally placing the order. A positive "I accept the terms" step at checkout — not a passive footer link — is what incorporates the terms and binds the customer under ECTA sections 22 and 24.
Price, payment and secure payment system
Fixes the full price (VAT-inclusive), delivery and any other charges with no hidden costs, the accepted payment methods, and confirms the store uses a payment system that is "sufficiently secure with reference to accepted technological standards" as section 43(5) requires. For consumer sales the price and charges must be in plain language and may not be unfair under CPA section 48.
Cooling-off, cancellation and returns
Sets out the ECTA section 44 seven-day cooling-off right (cancel without reason or penalty within seven days of receiving goods, or of concluding a services agreement, paying only the direct cost of return), the consumer’s separate CPA section 20 return rights, and the section 46 rule that the supplier must deliver within 30 days or the consumer may cancel and be refunded. Excludes the cooling-off only where ECTA section 42(2) genuinely allows.
Delivery, passing of risk and unavailability
Specifies delivery method and timeframes, exactly when risk of loss or damage passes to the buyer, and what happens if goods are unavailable — section 46(3) requires the supplier to notify the consumer immediately and refund any payment within 30 days. Separating passing of risk from passing of ownership avoids costly gaps on non-delivery or default.
Warranties, defects and limitation of liability
States the warranty position while respecting the CPA section 56 implied warranty of quality and the six-month right to return defective goods, which cannot be contracted out of. Any clause limiting the store’s liability must, under CPA section 49, be in plain language and conspicuously drawn to the consumer’s attention before checkout, and cannot exclude liability for gross negligence or contradict public policy.
Privacy, POPIA and marketing consent
Explains what personal information the store collects, why, how it is secured and shared, and the customer’s POPIA rights, and obtains POPIA section 69 consent before sending marketing by email or SMS (or relies properly on the existing-customer exception). This is the bridge between the terms and a stand-alone privacy/PAIA notice, and keeps marketing lawful.
Governing law, domicilium and dispute resolution
Confirms South African law governs, records an address for legal notices (domicilium citandi et executandi), and sets a fair dispute and complaints process. Because ECTA section 47 makes Chapter VII apply regardless of any chosen foreign law, a clause cannot be used to escape a South African consumer’s cooling-off or disclosure protection.
E-commerce terms (online store) vs ordinary terms and conditions of sale (offline)
| Feature | E-commerce / online store terms | Ordinary terms & conditions of sale |
|---|---|---|
| Governing framework | ECTA Chapter VII + CPA + POPIA | CPA + common law of contract |
| Mandatory disclosures | Defined ECTA s 43 information list must be on the website | No fixed statutory disclosure list (CPA plain-language still applies) |
| Cooling-off right | ECTA s 44 — seven days, no reason, no penalty | None by default (CPA s 16 only for direct marketing) |
| How the customer accepts | Click-to-accept / tick-box at checkout (data message) | Signature, order, or reasonable notice on paper |
| Delivery deadline | ECTA s 46 — within 30 days or consumer may cancel | As agreed; no statutory default deadline |
| Foreign-law clauses | Cannot strip consumer of Chapter VII (s 47) | More scope, subject to public policy and CPA |
Common South African pitfalls
- Copying overseas or template terms. US/EU "no refunds", "no cooling-off" and choice-of-foreign-law clauses are unlawful for South African consumers — ECTA section 47 makes the section 44 cooling-off and section 43 disclosures apply "irrespective of the legal system applicable to the agreement", so the imported clause is simply void to that extent.
- Leaving out the ECTA section 43 information. If the store does not publish the required details — full price including all costs, supplier identity and address for service, return policy, delivery timeframe, security and the section 44 rights — the consumer can cancel the transaction within 14 days under section 43(3), even after delivery.
- Hiding or omitting the seven-day cooling-off right. The section 44 right to cancel goods within seven days of receipt (or services within seven days of the agreement) without reason or penalty cannot be drafted away; a "all sales final" line is unenforceable against a consumer, and failing to disclose it is itself a section 43 breach.
- Burying liability limits in fine print. Under CPA section 49 any term limiting the store’s liability or shifting risk to the consumer must be in plain language and conspicuously drawn to attention before checkout — a clause hidden in scrolling small print can be severed, leaving the store fully exposed.
- Treating the privacy notice and marketing as an afterthought. Collecting customer data without a POPIA-compliant notice, or sending marketing emails/SMSes without POPIA section 69 opt-in consent (or a valid existing-customer basis), exposes the business to Information Regulator enforcement — the terms and the privacy notice must work together.
- No proper checkout acceptance step. A passive "terms" link in the footer may not incorporate the terms; ECTA expects a positive act of acceptance and a section 43(2) chance to review and correct the order, so a tick-box "I have read and accept the terms" before payment is essential to bind the customer.
Frequently asked questions
Are online store terms and conditions legally binding in South Africa?
Yes. ECTA section 22 confirms that a contract is not invalid merely because it was concluded electronically, and a customer who clicks "I accept" and pays is bound — provided the terms were properly incorporated by a positive acceptance step before the order. But consumer protections in ECTA Chapter VII and the Consumer Protection Act cannot be drafted away, so any clause that contradicts those rights is void.
What information must my e-commerce website legally display?
ECTA section 43 requires an online supplier to publish, among other things, its full name, legal status and registration number, a physical address for service, contact details, a clear description of the goods or services, the full price including all taxes and costs, the payment method, the delivery timeframe, the return and refund policy, security and privacy details, and the consumer’s section 44 cooling-off rights. If you leave these out, the consumer can cancel within 14 days under section 43(3).
Do online shoppers have a seven-day cooling-off right?
Yes. ECTA section 44 lets a consumer cancel an electronic transaction "without reason and without penalty" — within seven days of receiving the goods, or within seven days of concluding the agreement for services. The only charge you may levy is the direct cost of returning the goods. A few categories (such as auctions, custom-made items and some everyday-consumption goods) are excluded by section 42, but the default for most online sales is that the right applies.
Can I have a "no refunds" or "all sales final" policy?
No, not against a consumer. A blanket "no refunds" policy is unenforceable in South Africa: ECTA gives a seven-day cooling-off right, and the Consumer Protection Act adds returns for defective goods (section 56 implied warranty, with a six-month right to return) and goods the consumer could not examine before delivery (section 20). You can set reasonable conditions for returns, but you cannot remove these statutory rights.
How is the ECTA cooling-off different from the CPA cooling-off?
They are separate rights. The ECTA section 44 cooling-off is seven days and applies to almost all electronic (online) transactions simply because they were concluded online. The Consumer Protection Act section 16 cooling-off is five business days and applies only to sales resulting from direct marketing. An online sale usually engages ECTA; if the same sale also resulted from direct marketing, the CPA does not duplicate the ECTA right where section 44 applies.
Do POPIA and data-privacy rules apply to my online store?
Yes. The moment you collect customer names, addresses, payment or browsing data you are processing personal information under POPIA and must have a compliant privacy notice, secure the data, and only use it for the stated purpose. For marketing by email or SMS, POPIA section 69 generally requires opt-in consent unless the person is an existing customer being offered your own similar products, with an opt-out on every message.
Within what time must I deliver an online order?
ECTA section 46 requires the supplier to execute the order within 30 days of receiving it, unless you and the customer agreed a different timeframe. If you miss that deadline the consumer can cancel on seven days’ written notice. If the goods turn out to be unavailable, you must notify the customer immediately and refund any payment within 30 days of that notice.
Do I need a lawyer to draft my e-commerce terms and conditions?
It is strongly advisable. The ECTA section 43 disclosure list, the section 44 cooling-off, CPA-compliant returns and liability limits, and POPIA marketing consent all have to be exactly right, or your store is exposed to cancellations and regulator action. MJ Kotze Inc drafts and reviews e-commerce terms, privacy notices and store policies on a fixed-fee basis, tailored to what you sell and to South African law.
Sources & authority
- Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, Chapter VII ss 42–47 + ss 22 & 24 (lawlibrary.org.za canonical work)
- Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, ss 16, 20, 48, 49, 55 & 56 (lawlibrary.org.za canonical work)
- Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013, s 69 (lawlibrary.org.za canonical work)
This guide is general information, not legal advice. It reflects the law as at June 2026.