Refund Policy

1. Refund & Cancellation Policy

Because food is a highly perishable commodity, standard e-commerce return windows do not apply. This policy establishes a strict, fair framework to protect your revenue while maintaining customer trust.

A. Customer-Initiated Actions

Cancellation Window: A customer can only cancel an order within 60 seconds of placing it, provided the Restaurant Partner has not already accepted it.
Post-Acceptance Cancellations: Once a restaurant accepts the order and begins food preparation, the order cannot be cancelled. If a customer insists on cancelling or refuses to accept the delivery at their doorstep, a cancellation penalty of 100% of the order value will be automatically levied.
Incorrect Delivery Details: If a delivery fails because the customer provided an incorrect address, is unreachable via phone, or is not present to receive the order, the order will be marked as "Failed Delivery." No refund will be issued, and the full order amount will be used to compensate the Restaurant and Delivery Partners.

B. Eligibility for Full (100%) Refunds

Customers are entitled to a full refund or a free replacement code only under the following validated scenarios:

Platform/Merchant Cancellations: The order is cancelled unilaterally by the restaurant due to item stockouts, or by MESME due to an unexpected shortage of Delivery Partners.
Tampered/Damaged Packaging: The food arrives completely spilled, open, or visually contaminated, and the customer provides clear photographic proof to customer support within 15 minutes of the delivery time stamp.
Missing Items: If a multi-item order is delivered incomplete, a partial refund matching the exact menu cost of the missing item (plus proportional taxes/packaging) will be issued.
Wrong Order Delivered: The customer receives a completely different order than what was requested (verified via a photograph of the receipt on the delivered package).

C. Refund Settlement Matrix

Payment Mode	Refund Mechanism	Standard Timeline (RBI Guidelines)
UPI (GPay / PhonePe / Paytm)	Direct back to linked Bank Account	1 to 2 Business Days
Credit / Debit Cards	Reversal to issuing bank card account	5 to 7 Business Days
Net Banking	Source bank account credit	3 to 5 Business Days
MESME Wallet / Credits	Instant addition to app wallet	Immediate (Within 1 hour)

2. Restaurant Merchant Partner Terms

This section forms the core legal agreement between MESME Online Private Limited and any restaurant or kitchen listing their menu on your app.

A. Onboarding Prerequisites & Statutory Compliance

To list on the MESME platform, the Merchant must upload and maintain valid copies of:

FSSAI License/Registration: Mandatory under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The license number must be prominently displayed on the app menu listing.
GSTIN Registration: Required if the restaurant meets statutory GST thresholds or operates under specific e-commerce tax collection rules.
PAN Card & Bank Account Details: Matching the legal entity or proprietor name for payout processing.

B. Core Operational Responsibilities

Menu & Price Management: The Merchant is solely responsible for managing their live menu, updating pricing, and marking items as "Out of Stock" via the Merchant dashboard.
Food Quality & Hygiene: The Merchant guarantees that all food items prepared are fresh, safe for human consumption, unadulterated, and compliant with FSSAI hygiene standards. The Merchant agrees to indemnify MESME against any consumer lawsuits, food poisoning claims, or fines arising from quality or hygiene failures.
Turnaround Time (TAT): The Merchant must accept or reject an order within 2 minutes of notification and prepare the order within the designated preparation window (standardly 15–20 minutes) to prevent delivery partner delays.

C. Financial Terms, Commissions & Tax Collection (TCS)

Platform Commission: MESME will deduct a mutually agreed percentage (e.g., 15% to 25%, depending on your business model) as a marketplace service fee from the gross food bill value of every successful order.
Section 52 GST Compliance (TCS): In accordance with Section 52 of the CGST Act, 2017, MESME is legally required to collect Tax Collected at Source (TCS) at the rate of 1% (or the currently applicable rate) on the net value of taxable supplies made through the platform and remit it directly to the government.
Payout Cycle: Collected payouts, minus commissions, packaging partner deductions, and statutory taxes (TCS/TDS), will be settled into the Merchant’s registered bank account on a Weekly / Bi-weekly basis.

D. Indemnity & Termination

Indemnification: The Merchant explicitly agrees to defend and hold harmless MESME Online Private Limited and its directors from any losses, damages, legal costs, or consumer court expenses stemming from a breach of food safety regulations or defective packaging.
Termination: Either party can terminate this contract by giving 30 days' prior written notice. However, MESME reserves the right to suspend or terminate a Merchant's listing immediately and without notice if the Merchant receives repeated poor hygiene ratings, lacks a valid FSSAI license, or engages in fraudulent transactions.