Eligibility & Policy Engine

The Policy Engine evaluates refund and return requests against configurable merchant rules. It determines eligibility based on return windows, item categories, customer history, and amount thresholds.

Check Eligibility

Before processing a refund, check whether the transaction is eligible.

const { data: policy, error } = await rk.policies.check({
  transactionId: 'ch_1N4HbSKz9cXRvFYr',
  amount: 2500,
});

if (policy.eligible) {
  console.log('Refund allowed up to', policy.maxAmount, 'cents');
  console.log('Deadline:', policy.deadline);
} else {
  console.log('Not eligible:', policy.reason);
}

Policy Rules

Policies are JSON-based rule sets that define refund and return conditions per merchant.

Category Rules

Each product category can have its own return policy:

const categoryRule = {
  category: 'electronics',
  returnWindowDays: 15,
  restockingFeePercent: 15,
  exchangeOnly: false,
  finalSale: false,
  conditions: ['Original packaging required', 'All accessories included'],
};

Global Limits

Per-customer limits prevent abuse:

const globalLimits = {
  maxReturnsPerCustomer30d: 5,
  maxReturnValuePerCustomer90d: 50000, // $500 in cents
  autoApproveThreshold: 5000,          // Auto-approve under $50
};

Eligibility Result

The eligibility check returns a comprehensive result:

| Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | eligible | boolean | Whether the refund is allowed | | policy.returnWindowDays | number | Total return window in days | | policy.daysRemaining | number | Days left in the return window | | policy.restockingFeePercent | number | Restocking fee percentage | | policy.exchangeOnly | boolean | Whether only exchanges are allowed | | policy.finalSale | boolean | Whether the item is final sale | | maxRefundAmount | number | Maximum refundable amount in cents | | restockingFee | number | Restocking fee amount in cents | | netRefundAmount | number | Amount after restocking fee | | autoApproved | boolean | Whether the refund can skip approval |

Using the Policy Engine Locally

For server-side evaluations, use the PolicyEngine class directly:

import { PolicyEngine } from '@refundkit/sdk';

const engine = new PolicyEngine({
  returnWindowDays: 30,
  restockingFeePercent: 0,
  rules: [
    { category: 'electronics', returnWindowDays: 15, restockingFeePercent: 15, exchangeOnly: false, finalSale: false, conditions: [] },
  ],
  globalLimits: {
    maxReturnsPerCustomer30d: 5,
    maxReturnValuePerCustomer90d: 50000,
    autoApproveThreshold: 5000,
  },
});

const result = engine.evaluate({
  purchaseDate: '2026-02-01',
  items: [{ sku: 'LAPTOP-01', category: 'electronics', quantity: 1, amount: 99900 }],
  amount: 99900,
});

MCP Tool

AI agents use the refundkit_check_eligibility tool to evaluate eligibility before processing refunds.

Next Steps

Refunds — Process refunds after confirming eligibility.
Returns — Create a return for eligible items.
Approvals — Understand the approval workflow for high-value refunds.