Dear Customer,
To provide clearer transaction rules and cancelation fee calculations, Alibaba Cloud is upgrading the refund rules for public cloud subscription products. The upgrade will be rolled out in batches starting at 10:00 (UTC+8) on November 20, 2025. After the upgrade, refunds for canceled subscription products will be calculated using the new rules.
Changes
If you used a coupon to pay for a subscription product, the coupon can be refunded in proportion to the original payment structure when you cancel the product.
If you cancel a subscription ECS instance that has been used for less than 30 days, the calculation for the consumed amount changes, with a 1.5 multiplier added. Original formula: Daily price × Usage duration × Applicable discount for the usage duration. New formula: (Daily price × Usage duration × Applicable discount for the usage duration) × 1.5.
You can view a detailed breakdown of the refund calculation and the composition of each payment component in the cancelation order details.
Coupon refunds are currently not supported for products purchased with other billing methods, such as resource plans, savings plans, and fixed-fee installments.
Example scenarios
Customer A, an IT company, purchases a subscription ECS instance. Assume the following pricing: The list price is USD 2,000/year. A 20% discount is available for a 1-year subscription, but there is no discount for shorter periods. The customer purchases a 1-year subscription, uses a USD 600 coupon, and pays USD 1,000 in cash (USD 2,000 × 0.8 - USD 600).
Scenario 1: The customer requests a refund after 3 months (assumed to be 91 days). Refund calculation:
The refundable value of the original order is USD 1,600, comprising USD 1,000 cash and a USD 600 coupon. The refund is returned in the same proportional structure.
The usage duration exceeds 30 days. Consumed amount = Daily price × Usage duration × Applicable discount for the usage duration. The daily price is USD 2,000 ÷ 365, the usage duration is 91 days, and no discount is available for usage shorter than one year.
Refund amount = Refundable value of the original order - Consumed amount = (USD 2,000 × 0.8) - (USD 2,000 ÷ 365 × 91 × 1) = USD 1,101.37. This amount includes:
Cash refund = USD 1,101.37 × (1,000 ÷ 1,600) = USD 688.36
Coupon refund = USD 1,101.37 × (600 ÷ 1,600) = USD 413.01
Scenario 2: The customer requests a refund after 25 days. Refund calculation:
The usage duration is less than 30 days. Consumed amount = (Daily price × Usage duration × Applicable discount for the usage duration) × 1.5. The daily price is USD 2,000 ÷ 365, the usage duration is 25 days, and no discount is available for usage shorter than one year. Because the usage duration is less than 30 days, a 1.5 multiplier is applied to the consumed amount.
Refund amount = Original order value - Usage fee = (USD 2000 × 0.8) - (2000 ÷ 365 × 91 × 1) × 1.5 = USD 852.05, where:
Cash refund = 852.05 × (1,000 ÷ 1,600) = USD 532.53
Coupon amount returned = 852.05 × (600 ÷ 1600) = USD 319.52
For refund orders processed before this upgrade, coupon refunds and viewing detailed refund calculations are not supported.
If you request a refund after 10:00 (UTC+8) on November 20, 2025, and the refund calculation seems incorrect, this may be because the new rules have not yet been rolled out to your account. For example, the refund amount may not match the rules described above, or the refund confirmation page may show no coupon refund even if you used one for the purchase.
If you have questions or need further assistance, please contact us. Thank you for your continued trust.