Returns and Exchanges on Indian Fashion Sites: Policy vs Reality

Myntra's standard return window is 30 days. Nykaa Fashion's is 15. Ajio runs 30 days on most categories but drops to 14 for sale items. Amazon India's A-to-z Guarantee covers you broadly, but the seller's individual policy still governs whether you get a refund or a replacement. None of this is hidden, it is all on the product page, but it is written in a font size designed for someone who is not in a hurry.

The first thing to understand is that "return accepted" and "return easy" are not the same statement. A platform can accept your return request and then reject the pickup because the item is not in its original packaging, the tags have been removed, or the return window closed the day the courier attempted delivery and failed. Each of those is a documented reason for refusal, not a technicality invented to frustrate you.


Myntra marks items as either returnable or exchange-only at the product level, not the brand level. A single brand can have some styles returnable and others not, depending on whether they are fulfilled by Myntra or shipped directly from the seller's warehouse. Fulfilled-by-Myntra products almost always clear returns without friction. Seller-fulfilled products are where disputes concentrate.


Ajio's "Easy Returns" label means the return is picked up from your door rather than dropped off at a courier point. It does not mean the return is unconditional. Ethnic wear, innerwear, and swimwear carry non-returnable flags even when the size is wrong, this is standard across every major Indian platform and mirrors the same hygiene logic that governs European e-commerce law.


Nykaa Fashion operates on a marketplace model for most of its catalogue. The platform mediates disputes, but the seller sets the exchange-only or no-return flag. If you bought a heavily discounted lehenga during a sale event, the probability that it is exchange-only rather than refundable is high. Check the product page before checkout, not after the parcel arrives.

Meesho's return process is the one that surprises most first-time users. The platform is a reseller network, which means the return goes back to an individual seller, not a warehouse. Quality disputes are handled through Meesho's buyer protection, but the resolution timeline, typically 5 to 7 business days for the claim to be reviewed, then another 5 to 7 for the refund, is longer than Myntra or Ajio.

Packaging is the most common failure point. "Original packaging" on a fashion return means the polybag, the tags still attached to the garment, and in some cases the branded box if one was included. A kurta photographed out of the bag with the tag snipped off to try it on is, technically, a return that can be refused. The rule feels absurd when the item is genuinely defective, but platforms enforce it because it is the only scalable way to distinguish worn-and-returned from genuinely faulty.

The second reason is the pickup window. Most platforms give you 24 to 48 hours to keep the return request active after it is approved before a courier is assigned. If you miss the pickup and do not reschedule, the request lapses. Reinstating it requires contacting customer support, and depending on how close you are to the original return window, the platform may decline.

The third is category flags you did not notice. Customised or altered garments, anything with a name embroidered or a hem taken up by the platform's tailoring service, are non-returnable by definition. This extends to made-to-measure kurtas on platforms like Fabindia's online store and some listings on Craftsvilla.

Photograph the item before you open the packaging fully. A photo of the sealed parcel, then one of the item still tagged inside the bag, gives you documented proof of condition if the return is disputed. This takes thirty seconds and has resolved more than one escalated case.

File the return request the same day the item arrives if you know it is wrong. Do not wait to think about it. The return window counts from the delivery date, not from when you opened the parcel.

If a return is rejected and you believe it should not be, escalate within the platform first, most have a re-review option in the app, and then to the National Consumer Helpline at 1915 if the platform is unresponsive. The Consumer Protection Act 2019 covers e-commerce transactions, and platforms are aware of this. A formal complaint through the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission is a slow process, but filing intent communicated to customer support tends to move things faster than a chat ticket.

An exchange is not a return with a different outcome. On most Indian platforms, an exchange request generates a new order for the replacement size or colour and a simultaneous pickup of the original. If the replacement is out of stock, the platform converts the exchange to a refund, but only if the original item has been picked up. If the pickup fails and the replacement is gone, you are left holding the original and chasing support.

For size exchanges specifically, Myntra's size chart is measured in centimetres and is specific to each brand. A size L in one brand's kurta is not the same as a size L in another's. The chart is on every product page. Using it before ordering eliminates most size-related returns before they happen, which is, of course, exactly what the platform intends.