RETURN, REFUND, CANCELLATION AND REPLACEMENT POLICY

This Return, Refund, Cancellation and Replacement Policy (“Policy”) governs the purchase of Ayurvedic medicines, Ayurvedic proprietary medicines, health and wellness products, herbal products, personal-care products and other products offered through www.swamiasfa.com’s website, mobile application, marketplace presence, customer-care channels or other authorised digital platforms (“Platform”) on “the company” (Shree Swami Atmanand Saraswati Ayurvedic Co-operative Pharmacy ltd.(Asfa)) sell its products. 

The objective of this Policy is to establish a transparent, fair and legally compliant mechanism for:

1. Cancellation of orders;
2. Return of eligible products;
3. Replacement of defective, damaged, incorrect or wrongly supplied products;
4. Refunds;
5. Handling of expired, tampered, counterfeit or suspected-quality-defect products;
6. Handling of prescription-related orders;
7. Protection of consumer rights;
8. Protection of personal and health-related information; and grievance redressal.

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING AYURVEDIC MEDICINES

Ayurvedic products sold through the Online Platform may fall into different regulatory categories. 

Accordingly, the Company may classify products as: 

General Wellness / Non-Medicinal Products

• Examples may include:
• herbal personal-care products;
• cosmetics;
• non-medicinal wellness products;
• food/wellness products, where legally permitted;
• accessories; and
• other products that are not regulated as Ayurvedic drugs. 

Return and refund eligibility for these products shall be governed by the product-specific return conditions displayed at the time of purchase. 

 

Ayurvedic Drugs / Medicines 
Products regulated as Ayurvedic, Siddha or Unani drugs shall be sold, labelled, 
packaged, stored and supplied in accordance with applicable law. 
The Drugs and Cosmetics Rules contain specific regulatory provisions for 
Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani drugs, including manufacturing, labelling and 
packaging requirements.  

 

Prescription / Medical-Supervision Products 
Where a product requires a prescription or medical supervision under applicable law, the Company may require the customer to provide a valid prescription issued by an appropriately registered practitioner before processing the order. The CCPA has specifically advised e-commerce entities concerning Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani drugs containing Schedule E(1) ingredients that such products should be sold only after obtaining a valid prescription from the relevant registered practitioner.  

The Company reserves the right to cancel or decline an order where: 

• a legally required prescription is not provided;
• the prescription is incomplete;
• the prescription appears invalid or altered;
• the prescription has expired where expiry is legally relevant;
• the prescription does not correspond to the product;
• the quantity requested is inconsistent with the prescription or applicable requirements; or the Company reasonably believes that sale would violate applicable law. 

 

GENERAL PRINCIPLE OF RETURNS 
Because medicines and healthcare products may create health, safety, contamination and storage concerns after delivery, opened, used or tampered medicinal products ordinarily cannot be returned merely because the customer has changed their mind or no longer wants the product.

However, this restriction shall not affect a customer's statutory rights or the Company's obligation to provide an appropriate remedy where the product is: 

• defective;
• damaged before or during delivery;
• incorrect;
• materially different from the product ordered;
• expired at the time of delivery;
• suspected to be counterfeit;
• tampered with;
• leaking or contaminated;
• supplied in violation of applicable prescription requirements;
• otherwise not of the quality or description represented; or
• otherwise eligible for remedy under applicable law. 

Nothing in this Policy shall exclude or restrict any mandatory consumer right available under applicable law. 

 

ELIGIBLE RETURN / REPLACEMENT CONDITIONS 

A customer may request return, replacement or refund where any of the following circumstances exists: 

 

Wrong Product 
The Company has supplied a product different from the product ordered. 

 

Damaged Product 
The product or its packaging was damaged during transportation or delivery. 

 

Tampered Packaging
The customer receives a package where: 

• the outer seal is broken;
• the product seal appears tampered with;
• the package is visibly manipulated; or
• there is reasonable evidence of interference. 

Customers should immediately report such issues to the Company and, wherever reasonably possible, refuse delivery of visibly tampered packages.

 

Expired Product 
The product delivered is expired or does not comply with applicable shelf-life requirements. 
Ayurvedic medicines are subject to specific expiry/labelling requirements under the applicable Drugs and Cosmetics Rules.

 

Manufacturing / Quality Defect 
A product is reasonably suspected to contain a manufacturing defect or quality defect. 

 

Missing Product 
An item paid for by the customer is missing from the delivered package.

 

Material Misdescription 
The product supplied materially differs from the description, specification or representation made on the Platform. 

 

Delivery Error 
The Company delivers an incorrect quantity, strength, pack size or product variant.

 

Regulatory / Prescription Error 
Where the Company has incorrectly supplied a prescription-regulated product contrary to the prescription or applicable requirements, the Company shall investigate and provide an appropriate remedy.

 

NON-RETURNABLE PRODUCTS 
Unless required otherwise by applicable law, the following products may not be eligible for ordinary customer-initiated returns: 

1. opened medicines;
2. medicines where the inner seal has been broken;
3. medicines that have been used;
4. products returned without the original packaging where such packaging is necessary to verify authenticity, batch or quality;
5. products damaged after delivery due to improper storage or handling by the customer;
6. products contaminated after delivery by the customer;
7. products whose batch/lot information has been removed or altered;
8. products purchased from an unauthorised source;
9. products that cannot safely be resold due to applicable pharmaceutical/healthcare requirements;
10. products specifically identified as non-returnable on the product page, subject always to applicable statutory rights. 

This restriction shall not apply where the product is defective, damaged, expired, counterfeit, wrongly supplied, materially misdescribed or otherwise subject to a statutory remedy. 

 

RETURN WINDOW 
For eligible products, the customer should raise a return/replacement request within:

[48 hours / 72 hours / 7 days] from the date of delivery. 
For damaged, wrong, expired or tampered pharmaceutical products, customers are strongly encouraged to notify the Company as soon as possible and preferably within 48 hours of delivery. 
Failure to report within the stated period may make verification more difficult, but shall not by itself extinguish any mandatory legal right available to the consumer. 

HOW TO REQUEST A RETURN / REPLACEMENT

The customer may submit a request through: 

• Take the picture of the product which want to Return/Replace
• Upload that picture to the customer account  
• Customer Account → My Orders → Return/Replacement;
• email: [EMAIL];
• customer-care number: [NUMBER]; 

The customer should provide: 

1. order number;
2. invoice number;
3. product name;
4. batch/lot number, wherever available;
5. date of delivery;
6. reason for return;
7. photographs/videos showing the issue, where reasonably required;
8. photographs of the packaging;
9. photographs of the product label;
10. prescription details, where applicable; and
11. any other information reasonably required for investigation. 

The Company shall not unnecessarily collect sensitive or excessive personal information merely for processing a return. 

 

EVIDENCE FOR DAMAGED / TAMPERED PRODUCTS

For transportation-related damage, customers are encouraged to provide: 

• photograph of the outer package;
• photograph of shipping label;
• photograph of damaged product;
• photograph of inner packaging;
• unboxing video, where available. 

An unboxing video may assist the investigation but shall not automatically be treated as the only mandatory evidence for establishing a valid consumer claim.

 

COUNTERFEIT / SUSPECTED COUNTERFEIT PRODUCTS 

If a customer suspects that a product is counterfeit, the customer should immediately notify the Company and provide: 

• order number;
• product photographs;
• batch/lot number;
• manufacturer information;
• packaging photographs;
• invoice;
• photographs of seals/labels; and
• any other relevant evidence. 

The Company may suspend further sale of the relevant batch pending investigation.

Where legally required or appropriate, the Company may notify the manufacturer, licensing authority, law-enforcement marketplace, payment provider or other competent authority. 

 

RETURN OF PRESCRIPTION PRODUCTS 
Prescription-regulated products shall be handled with enhanced safeguards. 
A prescription product may be returned/replaced only where: 

• the wrong product was supplied;
• the wrong strength/quantity was supplied;
• the product was damaged;
• the product was expired;
• the product was tampered with;
• there is a verified quality defect;
• the Company incorrectly processed the prescription; or
• another remedy is required by applicable law. 

A prescription medicine cannot ordinarily be returned merely because: 

• the customer changed their mind;
• the customer no longer requires it;
• the customer ordered it accidentally; or the customer did not use it. 

 

RETURN OF PRESCRIPTION PRODUCTS 
Prescription-regulated products shall be handled with enhanced safeguards. 
A prescription product may be returned/replaced only where: 

• the wrong product was supplied;
• the wrong strength/quantity was supplied;
• the product was damaged;
• the product was expired;
• the product was tampered with;
• there is a verified quality defect;
• the Company incorrectly processed the prescription; or
• another remedy is required by applicable law. 

A prescription medicine cannot ordinarily be returned merely because: 

• the customer changed their mind;
• the customer no longer requires it;
• the customer ordered it accidentally; or the customer did not use it.

 

CANCELLATION BEFORE DISPATCH 
Customers may request cancellation before dispatch by: 

• logging into their account;
• contacting customer support; or
• using the cancellation functionality provided on the Platform. 

If the order has not been dispatched, the Company shall make reasonable efforts to cancel the order. 
Where payment has already been collected, the eligible refund shall be processed using the applicable payment/refund mechanism. 

 

CANCELLATION AFTER DISPATCH 
Once an order has been dispatched, cancellation may not always be possible. 
The customer may refuse delivery where legally and operationally permitted, or may initiate an eligible return after delivery. 
For pharmaceutical products, the Company may impose additional restrictions necessary to comply with applicable drug, safety, storage and regulatory requirements. 

 

AUTOMATIC CANCELLATION BY COMPANY 
The Company may cancel an order where: 

1. the product is unavailable;
2. the product has been discontinued;
3. the product has been recalled;
4. the product fails quality-control requirements;
5. the prescription is invalid or insufficient;
6. the customer provides false or misleading information;
7. the order appears fraudulent;
8. the transaction violates applicable law;
9. the delivery address is outside the Company's permitted service area;
10. the product cannot legally be supplied to the customer;
11. a pricing or technical error materially affects the order; or
12. any other legally permissible reason exists. 

Where an order is cancelled by the Company for reasons attributable to the Company, the customer shall receive an appropriate refund of amounts paid, subject to applicable law. 

 

REFUND ELIGIBILITY 
A refund may be issued in the following circumstances: 

• eligible order cancellation;
• wrong product;
• damaged product;
• expired product;
• confirmed quality defect;
• confirmed counterfeit/suspected counterfeit;
• missing product;
• non-delivery where the Company is responsible;
• material product mismatch;
• Company-initiated cancellation;
• duplicate payment;
• payment successfully received but order could not be fulfilled; or another circumstance requiring refund under applicable law.

 

REFUND PROCESS 
After approval of the refund, the Company shall initiate the refund through the original payment method wherever reasonably possible. 
The refund may be made through: 

• original payment method;
• bank transfer;
• UPI;
• payment gateway;
• card reversal; or
• another legally permissible method. 

Refund processing time may vary depending on: 

• Payment gateway;
• Bank;
• Card issuer;
• UPI provider; 
• Payment method; and
• Reconciliation process. 

The Company shall communicate the refund status to the customer. 

 

REFUND OF SHIPPING / DELIVERY CHARGES 
Where the return or refund is attributable to: 

• wrong product supplied;
• damaged product;
• defective product;
• expired product;
• non-delivery attributable to the Company;
• materially misdescribed product; or
• another Company-side fulfilment error, 

The Company shall consider refunding applicable delivery charges as required by applicable law and the circumstances of the case. 
Where a return is requested solely for customer preference and such return is legally permitted, return shipping/transportation/delivery charges may be borne by the customer if this was clearly disclosed before purchase. 

 

REPLACEMENT 
Where an eligible claim is approved, the Company may, subject to availability and applicable law: 

1. replace the product;
2. replace the affected quantity;
3. provide an alternative remedy agreed with the customer; or
4. issue a refund. 

A replacement shall normally be dispatched only after the Company's return/quality verification process, where such verification is reasonably necessary. 

 

PARTIAL REFUNDS 
Where only part of an order is defective, damaged, missing or incorrectly supplied, the Company may issue: 

• refund for the affected product;
• replacement of the affected product; or
• another appropriate remedy. 

The Company shall not ordinarily cancel or refund the entire order where only an individual product is affected unless the circumstances justify doing so.