Refund & Cancellation Policy

Last Updated: November 4, 2026

Thank you for engaging my professional consulting and web engineering services. Please review my policy regarding refunds and service cancellations below. By paying an invoice, issuing a deposit, or initiating a service milestone, you agree to these terms. In the event of a direct conflict between this policy and terms specified in an active Statement of Work (SOW), Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), digital invoice, or written email confirmation, the specific terms set forth in such SOW, MoU, invoice, or email shall take precedence.

1. Bespoke Custom Services & Post-Acceptance Policy

All services provided by Gaurav Nema (including but not limited to custom full-stack software development, brand strategy, local SEO optimization, database architecture, and managed cloud deployments) are highly customized professional services. Due to the direct allocation of technical hours and engineering capacity, all payments made for completed milestones, hourly consultations, or active retainer periods are final and non-refundable.

A dedicated Quality Assurance (QA) testing window is provided to the Client prior to final project sign-off. Milestone completion notices, staging links, and QA access instructions may be communicated via email, instant messaging applications (such as WhatsApp), or verbal discussions. A project or milestone is deemed irrevocably accepted in full upon written sign-off, milestone invoice settlement, public/production deployment, next-phase authorization, or the expiration of five (5) calendar days following link delivery through any communication channel without specific written objections. Upon sign-off or deemed acceptance, no post-production free support or post-acceptance refund claims are provided. Any post-acceptance bug fixes, updates, or feature additions are billable at standard hourly rates.

2. Advance Deposits & Milestone Cancellations

• Forfeiture of Advance Deposits: All advance payments, setup deposits, and retainer fees are non-refundable. A refund of an advance deposit is only applicable if the Consultant cancels the project prior to commencing work, or fails to deliver the agreed deliverables within the contractually agreed timeline solely due to the Consultant's own gross negligence, excluding any delay, delivery failure, or interruption caused by Client delays, third-party infrastructure failures, or events of Force Majeure.
• Mid-Cycle Project Termination: If a project milestone or Statement of Work is terminated mid-cycle by mutual agreement, the Consultant shall calculate the value of work completed up to the date of receipt of written termination notice. This value is determined by multiplying the logged engineering and consultation hours by the Consultant's standard hourly rate. If the advance deposit exceeds the value of work completed, the remaining unearned balance shall be refunded to the Client within seven (7) working days. If the value of work completed exceeds the deposit, the Client shall be invoiced for the outstanding balance, payable immediately.
• Excess Revisions & Out-of-Scope Billing: Fees paid for additional revision rounds requested beyond the default two (2) free rounds, or for out-of-scope work additions, are strictly non-refundable once execution has commenced.
• Physical Print & Production Exclusions: For design deliverables (such as packaging and product labels), once the Client provides final approval on layouts/dielines and print-ready files are delivered or sent to print, no refund claims can be entertained. The Consultant holds no liability for printing costs, production errors, material wastage, or compliance disputes discovered post-approval.
• Client-Side Delay Termination: If a project is placed on Operational Hold due to the Client's failure to provide timely feedback, copy, layout approvals, or credentials, and the Client remains unresponsive or fails to resolve the hold within thirty (30) calendar days, the project shall be terminated. In such event, all advance payments are strictly forfeited, and no refunds or credits shall be issued.

3. Third-Party Resource Costs & Taxation

Certain engagements require the purchase of third-party assets and licenses (including but not limited to domain registrations, cloud server hosting from Serverbyt, Hostinger, GoDaddy, SSL certificates, Zoho Mail accounts, API credits, and theme licenses). All payments made to the Consultant for third-party resources are immediately processed with external registrars and are strictly non-refundable under any circumstances.

All quotes and invoices are non-GST, as the Consultant is currently exempt and not registered under GST. Business clients deducting TDS under Indian Income Tax rules must provide Form 16A TDS certificates within statutory timelines.

4. Retainer Cycles & Termination Notice

Ongoing advisory retainers or managed hosting/support contracts are billed in advance of the monthly billing cycle. To cancel a recurring retainer cycle, the Client must provide a written cancellation notice sent to namaste@gauravnema.in at least fifteen (15) to thirty (30) days prior to the start of the next billing cycle (as specified in the active engagement SOW). Retainer fees paid for active or upcoming cycles are non-refundable, and services will continue until the end of the paid cycle.

5. Payment Gateway Disputes & Time Limits

• Duplicate Transactions: Transactions processed via Stripe, Razorpay, or Zoho Books links are secure. In the event of an accidental duplicate transaction, the Client must notify the Consultant at namaste@gauravnema.in with the Transaction ID. Verified duplicate charges will be voided and refunded within 24–48 hours.
• Waiver of Claims: The Client must raise any dispute regarding an invoice, charge, or service delivery within fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of the respective invoice. Failure to raise a dispute within this timeframe shall constitute an absolute waiver of any refund claims, and the invoice shall be deemed accepted and payable in full.