Starting a webshop with an existing business: what additional rules must be met in Hungary?

For an operating business, online sales are often not a new business model, but a natural extension of the existing operation. The products are already given, the purchasing or manufacturing background works, the company has a customer base, an invoicing process and sales experience. From here, it may seem like a logical step to make the same products available through the company’s own website.

However, from a legal and administrative point of view, the online channel is not just a new sales platform. Just because a business meets all the conditions for offline sales does not automatically make it fully prepared for online sales.

Operating online can bring with it new obligations in terms of consumer protection, commercial, data protection and technology. In some cases, accounting, VAT, logistics and packaging processes also need to be adapted to these.

There is no general “webshop license”. Compliance rather means the harmonization of several requirements that build on each other.

When does a website become a real sales channel?

The first question is not whether there is a basket on the website, but where and how the contract is created between the business and the customer.

A website that only presents products does not necessarily mean online sales in itself. However, if the customer can place his order remotely and the contract is concluded without the simultaneous personal presence of the parties, the rules on distance contracts may already apply.

This does not require a classic webshop engine or credit card payment. The contract can be concluded by e-mail, phone or even social media.

Later personal pick-up does not necessarily change this. If the customer has already placed their binding order online, the transaction can still be a distance sale even if they finally pick up the goods in the store.

Therefore, when designing the webshop, it must be determined at the beginning at which point between the placing of the order, the automatic confirmation and the seller’s declaration of acceptance will actually be concluded.

You don’t necessarily need a new company, but the existing operation needs to be reviewed

Typically, online sales do not require the establishment of a new business. The same business entity can operate both the physical store and the webshop.

However, the activity classification must be checked. In the NACE’25 system, the former, independent category of “mail order and online retail” has been abolished, so today the retail classification is primarily determined by the nature of the product sold, and not by whether the sale takes place in a store or online.

Therefore, if the company’s existing activities already adequately cover the sales of the given products, it is not necessary to add a new scope of activities just because of the opening of the webshop.

The situation is different if a new warehouse, site, pick-up point or other place of operation is connected to the online expansion. In this case, company law and registration issues may also arise.

The commercial notification must also be examined separately

The TEÁOR classification and the commercial notification are two separate issues.

A webshop operating with delivery typically engages in mail order trade, which must be reported to the notary competent according to the registered office of the company. If the company previously sold only in a traditional store, it is worth checking whether the register contains the new form of sale.

Here, the product range is also decisive. For some products, online sales may be linked to specific sectoral requirements or restrictions. This is particularly important, for example, in the case of certain pharmaceuticals, pesticides, sanitary or other regulated products.

In other words, the fact that a product can be legally marketed in a physical store does not automatically mean that its sale on the Internet is also allowed without any further conditions.

Online sales also need to adapt the contractual documentation

One of the most important features of the webshop is that the customer does not receive the essential information in person before concluding the contract. Therefore, these must be properly conveyed by the online interface itself.

The webshop must clearly identify the operator, describe the conditions of ordering and fulfilment, payment and delivery options, consumer rights, complaint handling and data processing.

These are typically regulated by the imprint, the GTC, the withdrawal and warranty information, the complaint handling information, as well as the data management and cookie documentation.

However, the point is not the number of documents, but that they describe the actual operation.

For example, copying the GTC of another webshop can easily be faulty if the method of conclusion of the contract is different, the payment is different, a different courier service is used, or the company handles returns differently.

There must therefore be full consistency between the documentation and the technical system.

Compliance becomes really visible in the operation of the webshop

A regular webshop is not adequate if it has all the necessary legal pages.

The purchase process must also follow the legal requirements.

Before submitting the order, the customer must be given the opportunity to correct data entry errors, see the total amount to be paid and any additional costs, and the button that finalizes the order must clearly indicate that a payment obligation has arisen.

The receipt of the order must be confirmed electronically. In addition, a clear distinction must be made between when the system merely acknowledges the receipt of the order and when the company actually accepts the customer’s offer and the contract is concluded.

The necessary information related to the contract must be provided in a durable form that is also available later, typically by e-mail.

From a practical point of view, therefore, a full trial order before the launch of the webshop is often worth more than just the theoretical verification of the documents.

The 14-day right of withdrawal is a fundamental difference compared to offline sales

In the case of distance sales to consumers, as a general rule, the customer is entitled to a right of withdrawal without justification within 14 days from the receipt of the goods.

This is a completely different legal institution than a guarantee or guarantee. The consumer does not have to claim that the product is defective in order to withdraw it.

The business must properly handle the notification of withdrawal, the return of the product and the refund of the purchase price. In certain circumstances, the refund may be withheld until the product is returned or the consumer has not provided proof of dispatch.

There are exceptions to the right of withdrawal, for example in the case of certain custom-made or perishable products. However, these must always be examined concretely.

As a general rule, it cannot simply be stated that all opened packaging automatically excludes withdrawal.

In 2026, electronic withdrawal will also become a technical requirement

 2026. From 19 June, an electronic withdrawal function must also be provided for consumer contracts concluded online and subject to the right of withdrawal.

This is no longer just a matter of documentation. The website must have an easily accessible solution through which the consumer can identify the contract, indicate their intention to withdraw electronically, and then receive a confirmation.

An easy-to-download withdrawal statement is therefore not necessarily a substitute for this function.

This is a good example of how webshop compliance is now increasingly legal and IT compliance at the same time.

There are also mandatory aspects in the design of payment and delivery

The determination of payment methods is not always a purely business decision. In the case of domestic consumer sales of goods, the rules on the possibility of cash payment must also be taken into account, although it does not automatically follow that all webshops must offer cash on delivery.

Webshops selling to Hungary that are subject to the relevant rule must also offer Magyar Posta’s appropriate delivery service. This does not preclude the use of other courier services or parcel machines.

During delivery, it must always be checked whether the given product can actually be dispatched with the given service.

The product page is also part of compliance

The online shopper makes decisions primarily based on the information on the product page, so its content is also of paramount importance from a legal point of view.

For products covered by GPSR, it may be necessary to include in the online offer the details of the manufacturer, the details of the EU responsible person, the corresponding identification information of the product and the necessary safety warnings.

For certain product categories, additional specific online information may be required, such as energy labels.

Price communication is also regulated. In the case of a promotion, as a general rule, the lowest employee price of at least the previous 30 days must be taken into account as a benchmark.

 2026. From 27 September, new consumer information on durability, repairability, certain software updates and commercial warranties should also be observed.

The same logic applies to marketing claims. The labels “green”, “sustainable” or “environmentally friendly” must be properly substantiated.

Data protection is significantly more complex in online operations

A webshop manages more data and between more systems than a simple physical store.

In addition to order data, you can manage delivery addresses, user accounts, customer service communications, payment data, marketing preferences and website usage data.

The purpose, legal basis, duration of data processing and the role of the external service providers concerned must be defined.

Such external partners can be, for example, the webshop engine, the hosting provider, the payment service provider, the courier or the newsletter sender.

An important difference is that a purchase in itself does not mean automatic consent to a marketing newsletter. Similarly, non-necessary marketing and analytical cookies cannot be triggered simply because the visitor has opened the site.

When it comes to cookie management, a spectacular banner is not enough. Acceptance, rejection and subsequent withdrawal of consent must also work technically.

Accounting and tax processes must also be adapted to the webshop

Online sales do not necessarily change the basic taxation system of a business, but it can make financial processes significantly more complex.

Orders, credit card payments, cash on delivery, invoices, refunds, and inventory movements must match.

For example, a payment service provider can deduct its own commission before transferring the amount to the business. In this case, the net amount received in the bank account alone is not enough to properly book the transaction.

FirmaX Hungary’s accounting services can help you develop accounting processes related to online sales.

And if the webshop also sells to consumers in other EU Member States, the VAT rules for intra-Community distance selling will also appear. The EU threshold of €10,000 is not country-specific, and in some cases the VAT of the destination country applies. In this case, the OSS system may also be relevant.

However, in the case of storage abroad, additional local tax liabilities may arise.

Packaging and accessibility are not to be left out

The packaging materials used for webshop delivery may also give rise to an EPR obligation. In the case of the use of boxes, foils, space fillers or other packaging materials, registration, data reporting and fee payment obligations may arise depending on the role played by the company in placing the packaging on the market.

In addition, from 28 June 2025, some e-commerce services will also be affected by accessibility requirements. Certain micro-enterprises may be exempted, but the actual usability of the webshop must be examined for the companies concerned: for example, keyboard navigation, content that can be interpreted with a screen reader and the accessible purchase process.

What changes if the webshop only sells to companies?

In the case of B2B sales only, several consumer protection rules do not apply, such as the statutory 14-day right of withdrawal without justification.

However, this does not mean that the B2B webshop is exempt from all compliance obligations.

Trade notification, data protection, electronic contracting, invoicing, taxation and product-specific rules will remain relevant.

In addition, it must also be clear from the system if the webshop really sells exclusively to businesses.

Launching a webshop is actually a reorganization of a business process

Expanding an existing business with online sales is therefore much more than uploading products to a website, but there is no need to go through the process of the company formation in Hungary again.

In order to function properly, company data, commercial notifications, GTCs, data protection, payment, delivery, withdrawal, complaint handling, invoicing and accounting must be harmonized.

Therefore, the best starting point is always to review the actual business model: what the company sells, to whom, to which country, how the payment is made, where the goods depart, who delivers them, and when the contract is concluded.

Once these issues are clear, the necessary legal and administrative steps can be more clearly defined.