This policy sets out when you may cancel a service purchased from Artham Fintech Consulting Private Limited, when a refund is available, how much is refundable once work has begun, and how quickly refunds are credited to your original payment method.
In short. You may cancel before the scoping call and receive a full refund. After work begins, we refund the unearned portion of the fee. Approved refunds are processed within 5 to 7 business days and credited to the original payment method within the bank’s or card issuer’s own settlement cycle.
1. Purpose and scope
1.1 What this policy covers
This policy applies to advisory services purchased from Artham Fintech Consulting Private Limited through our online store, and to retainer and milestone engagements except where the engagement letter provides otherwise. It is published in compliance with the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 and the disclosure requirements applied by payment aggregators regulated by the Reserve Bank of India.
1.2 Nature of what you are buying
You are buying professional time and the deliverable produced by it, not a physical product or a licence to software. Once an engagement team has been assigned and work has commenced, the value delivered cannot be returned. Refund entitlements are therefore calculated by reference to the stage of work reached, as set out in section 3.
1.3 Precedence
Where a signed engagement letter or master services agreement contains its own cancellation and refund terms, those terms govern that engagement. This policy applies to everything else.
2. How to cancel
2.1 Cancellation request
Send a cancellation request by email to info@arthamfintech.com from the email address used at checkout, with the order number, the date of purchase, the service purchased and the reason for cancellation. Requests made by telephone or WhatsApp must be confirmed in writing before they take effect.
2.2 Acknowledgement
We acknowledge cancellation requests within 2 business days and confirm the refund determination, with a calculation of any deduction, within 7 business days of receipt.
2.3 Cancellation by us
We may cancel an order and refund it in full where client acceptance, conflict-of-interest or anti-money-laundering checks are not satisfied, where the scope proves to fall outside our competence or capacity, where a listing contained a manifest error in price or description, or where the information required to perform the work is not provided within 30 days of purchase despite two written reminders.
3. Refund eligibility
3.1 Cancellation window
You may cancel and receive a full refund of the amount paid where the cancellation request reaches us within 7 days of purchase and before the earlier of (a) the scoping call taking place, and (b) the engagement letter being issued. No deduction is applied in this window other than any non-refundable third-party charge described in section 3.5.
3.2 After the scoping call, before substantive work
Where the scoping call has taken place but no substantive work has been performed, we refund the fee paid less a scoping and administrative charge of 10% of the fee, or ₹5,000, whichever is lower.
3.3 After work has commenced
Where substantive work has commenced, we refund the unearned portion of the fee, calculated as the fee paid less the value of professional time recorded and third-party costs incurred up to the date the cancellation request is received. We will provide a statement of time recorded on request. Where more than 75 per cent of the agreed scope has been completed, or a draft deliverable has been shared with you, no refund is available.
3.4 Retainers and subscriptions
Recurring or retainer engagements may be cancelled on 30 days written notice. Fees for the current billing period are not refundable, and no further billing occurs after the notice period expires. Unused hours in a retainer period do not carry forward unless the engagement letter says so.
3.5 Non-refundable items
- Government, statutory, filing and registration fees already paid on your behalf.
- Third-party data, database, subscription or specialist costs already incurred and not recoverable.
- Payment gateway charges where the gateway does not refund them, to the extent permitted by law.
- Services expressly marked as non-refundable on the product page at the time of purchase.
4. Circumstances in which a refund is not available
A refund will not ordinarily be granted where:
- the deliverable has been provided and conforms to the agreed scope, but you disagree with the professional conclusions reached;
- the outcome you hoped for did not occur, given that advisory work carries no guarantee of outcome;
- the delay or failure was caused by information not being supplied, or being supplied inaccurately or incompletely;
- the request relates to work outside the agreed scope which you declined to approve;
- the request is made after the deliverable has been used in a filing, transaction, negotiation or submission to a third party.
If you believe the deliverable does not meet the agreed scope, raise it under section 5 before requesting a refund. Rectification is our first remedy.
5. Service quality, rectification and re-performance
5.1 Raising a concern
Notify us in writing within 15 days of receiving a deliverable, identifying specifically where it departs from the agreed scope.
5.2 Our response
Where a deliverable is found to be deficient against the agreed scope, we will re-perform or correct the affected work at no additional charge within a reasonable period. Where re-performance is not practicable or does not resolve the deficiency, we will refund the portion of the fee attributable to the affected work. Re-performance and refund together represent your primary remedies, without prejudice to the limitation of liability in our Terms and Conditions and to your statutory rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
6. Refund processing and timelines
6.1 Method
Approved refunds are credited to the original payment method used for the purchase — the same card, bank account, UPI handle or wallet. We do not refund to a different instrument, in cash, or by adjustment against a future engagement, unless the original method is closed or the refund is technically incapable of being routed, in which case we will collect verified bank details in writing.
6.2 Timelines
| Stage | Indicative timeline |
|---|---|
| Acknowledgement of cancellation request | 2 business days |
| Refund decision and calculation communicated | 7 business days |
| Refund initiated with the payment gateway | 5 to 7 business days from approval |
| Credit to card or bank account after initiation | 5 to 10 business days, subject to the issuing bank |
| UPI and wallet refunds after initiation | Usually 1 to 3 business days |
| International card refunds after initiation | 7 to 21 business days, subject to correspondent banking cycles |
6.3 Currency and charges
Refunds are made in the currency of the original transaction. For international payments, the amount credited may differ from the amount paid because of exchange-rate movement between the two dates and because of charges levied by intermediary or issuing banks. We refund the transaction amount received by us and are not responsible for such differences.
6.4 Taxes on refunds
Where GST was charged, a credit note is issued in accordance with section 34 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the tax component is adjusted accordingly. Where withholding tax was deducted by you, the refund is of the net amount actually received by us.
7. Chargebacks and payment disputes
Please contact us before initiating a chargeback with your bank or card issuer. Most disputes are resolved faster directly. Where a chargeback is raised, we will submit the order record, engagement correspondence and evidence of work performed to the acquiring bank. Where a chargeback is raised for an amount already refunded, or in respect of work delivered in accordance with the agreed scope, we reserve the right to recover the amount and associated charges, and to decline future engagements.
8. Failed, duplicate and unsuccessful transactions
If an amount is debited but the order does not complete, or a payment is made twice, write to us with the transaction reference. Duplicate and failed-transaction amounts are refunded in full without deduction, normally within 5 to 7 business days of confirmation from the payment gateway, and no cancellation charge applies.
9. Escalation
If you are not satisfied with a refund decision, escalate in writing to our Grievance Officer under our Grievance Redressal Policy. Grievances are acknowledged within 48 hours and resolved within 15 days of receipt, in line with the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020. Nothing in this policy restricts your right to approach a consumer forum under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the National Consumer Helpline, or the payment gateway’s own dispute mechanism.
10. Contact
- Entity: a private limited company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013
- Address: 41 & 42, 1st Floor (L-Type), Prem Nagar, Uttam Nagar, Near Metro Station, West Delhi, New Delhi, Delhi – 110059, India
- Refunds and billing: info@arthamfintech.com
- Telephone and WhatsApp: +91 7303967800
- Grievance Officer: The Grievance Officer, Artham Fintech Consulting Private Limited — info@arthamfintech.com
- Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM IST
This policy states our commercial refund practice. It does not limit rights you have under applicable consumer protection law, and it is not legal advice.