# Lost your receipt? You can still return the item, but you'll have to prove the purchase, MART says

- URL: https://syn.by/en/society/lost-your-receipt-you-can-still-return-the-item-but-youll-have-to-prove-the-purchase-mart-says/
- Published: 2026-10-20T15:30:06+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-21T16:25:14+00:00
- Section: Society
- Language: en
- RU edition: https://syn.by/ru/obshchestvo/potyeryali-chyek-tovar-vyernut-mozhno-no-pokupku-pridyotsya-dokazyvat-zayavili-v-mart.md
- BE edition: https://syn.by/hramadztva/stracili-chek-tavar-viarnuc-mozhna-alie-kupliu-daviadziecca-dakazvac-zajavili-u-mart.md

> Inna Havrylchyk, head of the consumer rights protection department at MART, named what can stand in for a receipt: witness testimony, in-store video, a bank statement, an electronic receipt and correspondence with the seller.

![](https://syn.by/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/illustration-611-1024x585.webp)

It is not unusual to need to return an item bought with cash after losing the receipt. According to Belarusian state media, an item can be returned without a receipt in Belarus.

The lack of a receipt does not take away the right to a return: the purchase can be confirmed with other evidence. Inna Havrylchyk addressed whether you can return an item and get your money back without a receipt in the official channel of the state body.

According to Havrylchyk, such an item can be returned, but it takes some effort: you have to prove that the purchase was made from this particular seller. She said: "Yes, you can return such an item, but you need to think about how you will prove that you bought it from this seller."

The first option is witness testimony. If you went to the store not alone but with a friend or relative, their words, according to Havrylchyk, will be a weighty argument.

The second is CCTV recordings. According to her, in large retail outlets this works without fail. A customer has the right to ask the store management to preserve the relevant footage or provide it.

The third is indirect evidence: a bank statement if you paid by card, an electronic receipt saved in your email or in an app, and even correspondence with the seller.

It is not yet known which of this evidence a store or a court would consider sufficient if the dispute reaches formal proceedings.

Meanwhile, MART advises not throwing away the paper receipt right after the purchase: it will save time and nerves if you have to return the item.

The most reliable and simplest route, according to Havrylchyk, is the paper receipt. It spares you long arguments and the need to prove the obvious, and so it remains the best proof of purchase.

The receipt is worth keeping until the end of the warranty period or the item's shelf life. Havrylchyk calls it insurance that will save time and nerves at the right moment.

According to Belarusian state media, as of September 2026 a rule was in force that when accepting a payment, the seller must use cash register equipment and give the customer a payment document, including a receipt, regardless of the payment method.

The law "On Consumer Rights Protection" has been amended more than once. For example, changes adopted on 13 June 2018 came into force on 23 December 2018, including with regard to provisions of international legal acts of the EAEU.