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Fatwa CenterPermissibility of using the receipt to return a purchased item
Question
Assalaamu alaykum. Are receipts allowed in Islam? I am asking because I heard that in Islam, if the buyer and seller depart, the buyer cannot give the item back. So does this mean that receipts are not allowed, for example, if you did not want the item after using it, can you return it?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
Once the valid sale contract is conducted and khiyaar al-majlis (the option to withdraw from the contract during the meeting) ends as the contractors depart, it is impermissible for either party to cancel the contract without the consent of the other party, unless one of them has been given the option to cancel the contract on his own. If either of them is given the option to cancel the sale contract, then he is entitled to exercise this right even if he did not find any defect in the purchased item.
If the two parties did not agree on the option of canceling the sale contract, then it is impermissible and invalid to cancel it except in case of mutual consent, in which case the cancellation of the contract is known as 'iqaalah' (a bilateral agreement to revoke or remove the legal effect of a contract).
The basic principle is that as long as the valid sale contract has been conducted properly and the two parties departed, then the ownership of the item has been transferred to the buyer, and the ownership of its price has been transferred to the seller. It is not permitted for either of them to cancel the sale contract merely because the buyer does not want it any more or has changed his mind, except with the consent of the seller. The Prophet, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, said, “The buyer and seller have the choice to invalidate their contract as long as they do not depart from each other.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
It is permissible, though, for the buyer to cancel the sale contract in case he found a considerable defect in the item. Ibn Qudaamah 
wrote, “Whenever the buyer finds a defect in the purchased item of which he had not been aware, then he has the choice either to retain it or to cancel the sale contract regardless of whether the seller knew of that defect and did not disclose it or was not aware of it in the first place. We do not know of any difference of opinion among scholars in this regard.”
Hence, if you mean by receipt that which is given by the seller to the buyer indicating the number, type, price of the commodities purchased and the purchase date, granting the buyer the right to return them in case of defect or mistake or the like, then there is no harm in that. However, the buyer has no right to annul the sale contract after concluding it except with the consent of the seller or in case he was given the option to rescind the contract or there was a defect in the commodity entailing canceling the contract as underlined above.
If you mean something else, please clarify your inquiry so that we can give you an accurate answer.
Allaah knows best.
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