ℹ️ This article applies to merchants using Returns V2.
When a customer returns an item — whether the order was domestic or international — taxes and duties can be refunded in addition to the product price. This article explains the available refund options and how to configure them.
Overview
When using Swap Global, you can manage your international shipping taxes and duties. With Global Returns, taxes and duties can also be refunded when included in the Global order.
Swap Returns has two options for managing your refund decision:
Do not refund taxes & duties — customers receive no refund for taxes or duties when a return is processed.
Refund taxes & duties — set per-destination refund rules for Global and Shopify orders.
Within Refund taxes & duties, each destination is set to refund either:
Taxes and duties — taxes and duties are both refunded.
Only taxes — only taxes are refunded; duties are not.
Rules are configured in two separate tables depending on how the order was fulfilled. The Global taxes & duties table applies to orders shipped through Swap Global. The Shopify taxes & duties table applies to orders processed through Shopify's native return flow. Merchants using both can configure rules independently in each table.
Please note:
Taxes and duties on the product price are refunded; taxes on shipping, advancement, or disbursement fees are not.
VAT-inclusive pricing and TLC always trigger a full refund, regardless of this setting.
Fees are not refundable.
Multi-currency support
The Taxes & Markets tab includes a multi-currency support toggle. For details on enabling returns in the customer's original purchase currency, see Multi currency support.
How it works
The customer requests to return an item (partial or full order).
Swap calculates the refund amount based on the store's settings.
The customer selects a returns method:
Refund — the customer is refunded the calculated amount according to the configured Global refund setting.
Store credit — the customer receives store credit as defined in the store credit settings, including refundable Global taxes where applicable.
Exchange — the exchange flow varies based on dashboard settings and exchange type. For more information, see Global Exchanges.
The return is marked in Global's system and the invoice is updated accordingly.
Shopify taxes & duties
Use the Shopify taxes & duties table to set tax and duty refund rules for returns processed through Shopify's return flow. Configure rules per destination country or region.
Each rule includes:
Destination countries — the countries or regions the rule applies to.
Refund — choose Taxes and duties or Only taxes.
Charge for exchange items — when enabled, taxes and duties apply to exchange orders for that destination. Swap carries over shipping details from the original order so duties and taxes are calculated correctly.
To add a rule, click +, select the destination, set the refund type, and configure Charge for exchange items. Click Save to apply.
Non-inclusive taxes: refund and bonus credit
When the Refund taxes & duties setting is enabled, non-inclusive taxes and duties are refunded via the returns portal:
The displayed item price includes only the original price plus inclusive taxes and duties.
A note in the returns portal informs customers that refunds for additional taxes and duties (non-inclusive) will be calculated and shown on the summary page.
If a bonus credit is offered, it is calculated based only on the displayed item price (excluding non-inclusive taxes and duties). On the summary page, any non-inclusive taxes and duties added to the credit are credited separately without additional bonus, using the same credit method selected.
If a refund is due, any refundable non-inclusive taxes and duties will be clearly calculated and included on the summary page.
Note: Global Taxes are not yet supported for Exchange for Something Else (EFSE) and will not be enabled if non-inclusive taxes or duties are being refunded.
Non-inclusive taxes: presentation in the RMA
For RMAs involving non-inclusive taxes and duties, a tax breakdown table is shown when the RMA is approved.
💡 If the order includes only inclusive taxes and duties, the standard refund process applies and no separate tax breakdown is shown. Taxes and duties are included in the displayed item prices and refunded accordingly.
For each item, you can open a dropdown that provides the following details:
Item name
Item price & quantity
Inclusive taxes & duties
Non-inclusive taxes & duties
Limitations
Taxes and duties included within the item price are always refunded to the customer, regardless of this setting.
Fees are not refundable.
Discounted shipping fees cannot be processed because Global taxes are embedded within the shipping costs. Apply discounts directly to the order rather than the shipping fees when using Global taxes refund.