Short answer
It depends which of three situations you are in, and the Consumer Rights Directive distinguishes them carefully.
"(b) in the case of sales contracts, the day on which the consumer or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by the consumer acquires physical possession of the goods or: (i) in the case of multiple goods ordered by the consumer in one order and delivered separately, the day on which the consumer or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by the consumer acquires physical possession of the last good; (ii) in the case of delivery of a good consisting of multiple lots or pieces, the day on which the consumer or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by the consumer acquires physical possession of the last lot or piece; (iii) in the case of contracts for regular delivery of goods during defined period of time, the day on which the consumer or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by the consumer acquires physical possession of the first good;" —
In short:
- One order, several items, separate parcels — the clock starts on the last item.
- One item arriving in parts (a bed frame in three boxes) — the clock starts on the last part.
- A subscription or recurring delivery — the clock starts on the first delivery.
The logic is consistent: the period starts when the consumer can finally assess what they bought. For a subscription, the first delivery is enough to assess the subscription.
Split orders: one clock, not several
The most commercially significant point in Article 9(2)(b)(i) is that a split order produces one withdrawal period covering the whole order, not a separate period for each parcel.
A consumer orders three items on 1 March. They arrive on 4, 9 and 20 March. The 14-day period for the entire order begins on 20 March and ends on 3 April.
Two consequences follow, and both cut against intuitive trader practice:
The consumer can withdraw from the earliest item long after it arrived. The item delivered on 4 March remains within the withdrawal period until 3 April — more than four weeks after delivery.
Systems keyed to individual parcel dates are wrong. A returns platform that calculates eligibility from each shipment's delivery date will reject valid withdrawals. This is a common and expensive defect, because rejecting a valid withdrawal is a breach, and if the trader also misinformed the consumer about the period it engages Article 10.
Note that the Directive says "multiple goods ordered by the consumer in one order". Where the consumer places two separate orders that happen to ship together, each order has its own period.
Multi-part goods
Article 9(2)(b)(ii) covers a single good delivered in lots or pieces — flat-pack furniture, a modular sofa, a system delivered as base unit plus accessories.
The distinction from (b)(i) rarely changes the outcome, since both point to the last delivery. It matters at the margins: where a single good's final component is delayed substantially, the withdrawal period for that good has not begun.
Recurring deliveries start early
Article 9(2)(b)(iii) is the outlier. For "contracts for regular delivery of goods during defined period of time", the period runs from the first delivery.
A twelve-month wine subscription with monthly deliveries has a withdrawal period that starts on the first bottle's arrival and expires 14 days later. It does not reset monthly, and it does not run from the last delivery in month twelve.
This matters for subscription-box businesses. It also raises a related question the Directive does not answer here: the consumer's right to terminate the ongoing contract for the future is a matter of the contract terms and national law, and is separate from the withdrawal right. Many subscription traders conflate the two in their terms.
Be careful about the boundary. A contract for regular delivery during a defined period falls in (b)(iii). An open-ended arrangement where the consumer orders each time is more likely a series of separate contracts, each with its own period.
Services and digital content
Service contracts — Article 9(2)(a): the day the contract is concluded.
Digital content not supplied on a tangible medium, and utilities not sold in a limited volume or set quantity — Article 9(2)(c): the day the contract is concluded.
Digital content also has the Article 16(m) exception: where performance has begun with the consumer's prior express consent, their acknowledgement that they lose the right, and the trader's confirmation under Article 7(2) or 8(7), the withdrawal right does not apply at all. All three conditions are required.
Mixed orders — physical goods plus digital content or a service in the same transaction — can therefore have different start dates for different elements.
The twelve-month sanction for getting it wrong
Article 10 makes the information duty expensive to breach:
"If the trader has not provided the consumer with the information on the right of withdrawal as required by point (h) of Article 6(1), the withdrawal period shall expire 12 months from the end of the initial withdrawal period, as determined in accordance with Article 9(2)." —
A 14-day period becomes twelve months and 14 days.
Article 10(2) provides a cure: if the trader supplies the information within those 12 months, the period expires 14 days (or 30 where the Member State has adopted the Article 9(1a) rule) after the consumer receives it. Late information stops the bleeding but does not undo the extension retrospectively.
Article 6(4) offers a safe harbour — using the Annex I(A) model instructions on withdrawal, correctly filled in, satisfies points (h), (i) and (j) of Article 6(1). For split orders, "correctly filled in" means describing the start of the period accurately for the type of delivery concerned.
The 30-day option
Article 9(1a), inserted by Directive (EU) 2019/2161, allows Member States to extend the period from 14 to 30 days for contracts concluded in the context of unsolicited visits by a trader to a consumer's home, or excursions organised with the aim or effect of promoting or selling products.
This is a national option, so traders using those channels must check each market. It does not apply to ordinary online selling.
Exercising the right
Article 9(1) gives the consumer the right to withdraw "without giving any reason, and without incurring any costs other than those provided for in Article 13(2) and Article 14".
Once withdrawal is communicated, Article 14(1) gives the consumer 14 days to send the goods back, and the deadline is met if the goods are sent before that period expires. Article 13(1) gives the trader 14 days from being informed to reimburse.
So a split order can involve three clocks: when the withdrawal period starts (last delivery), the consumer's 14 days to return, and the trader's 14 days to refund.
Operational checklist
- Calculate the withdrawal period per order, not per parcel, for split deliveries.
- Key the start date to the last item for split orders and multi-part goods.
- Key the start date to the first delivery for defined-period recurring contracts.
- Use conclusion of contract for services, digital content and unmetered utilities.
- Ensure returns systems accept withdrawals for early-delivered items within the whole-order window.
- Separate the withdrawal right from contractual termination rights in subscription terms.
- Use the Annex I(A) model instructions and fill them in accurately for the delivery pattern.
- Check whether any market applies the 30-day rule to your sales channels.
- Audit the period actually shown to consumers at checkout against Article 9(2).
Conclusion
For a split order the answer is the last item, and the whole order shares a single withdrawal period. For a single good in several parts it is also the last part. For a defined-period subscription it is the first delivery — the exception that catches traders out.
The stakes are not merely a few days. Misstating the start date is a failure to provide the Article 6(1)(h) information, and Article 10 turns a 14-day period into twelve months and 14 days. Configure the returns system from Article 9(2) itself, and use the model instructions to lock in the safe harbour.
Sources
This article provides general legal information, not advice for a specific matter. Laws, facts and procedural deadlines may change the result. Follow the linked primary sources and obtain local advice before acting.