Refund & Cancellation Policy

Plain-language rules for when a CSE consultation can be cancelled for a refund, and when the fee becomes non-refundable.

1. Scope

This Refund & Cancellation Policy applies to all paid consultations and advisory services booked through this website, including one-on-one consultations, webinar-based consultations, and any session-based engagement offered by Centre For Safety Environment ("CSE"). It does not apply to bespoke multi-week advisory engagements, where refund terms are governed by the signed engagement letter. Where this Policy conflicts with an engagement letter, the engagement letter prevails.

2. Statutory Position

Consultation services are "services" within the meaning of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and are not goods. The right of return under Section 2(7) of the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 does not extend to consultation services once a slot is confirmed. Refunds offered by CSE are a goodwill commitment and not a statutory entitlement.

3. Cancellation & Refund Timings

4. What "slot confirmation" means

A consultation is treated as "seat-confirmed" the moment one of the following happens, whichever is earliest:

• CSE emails or messages you a confirmed meeting link or webinar slot.
• You receive a calendar invite (Google Calendar / Outlook) from a CSE-controlled domain.
• The booked session time is within 24 hours of your booking time and the link has been issued.

5. Reschedule (no fee)

You may reschedule a confirmed consultation at no charge by emailing ssc.envirosafety@gmail.com at least 4 working hours before the scheduled time. Reschedule requests inside the 4-hour window are at CSE's discretion and may attract a re-booking fee of up to 50% of the consultation fee.

6. Refund Processing

• Approved refunds are processed to the original payment method within 7–10 working days of approval.
• CSE is not responsible for delays caused by your bank, card issuer, payment gateway, or foreign-exchange intermediary.
• Bank charges, gateway fees, GST paid on the original transaction, and any foreign-exchange conversion differences are non-refundable.
• Refunds are denominated in Indian Rupees (INR) at the original INR value of the booking, regardless of currency in which you paid.

7. Chargebacks

If you initiate a chargeback for a transaction that is not eligible for refund under this Policy, CSE reserves the right to provide the booking record, join logs, attendance confirmation, and email trail to the payment gateway, bank, and any arbitrator or court to dispute the chargeback. A chargeback filed in bad faith where a refund is not due may also result in suspension of your account and refusal of future services until the disputed amount is cleared.

8. Non-Refundable Items

• Consultations that have been delivered (attended, or no-show).
• Webinar consultations where your seat has been confirmed, irrespective of attendance.
• Documentation, templates, slide decks, or reports shared before cancellation.
• Re-booking fees, and any bank / gateway fees incurred on the original transaction.

9. CSE-Initiated Cancellation

If CSE must cancel a confirmed consultation due to expert unavailability, technical failure on CSE's side, or events beyond CSE's reasonable control (force majeure, natural disasters, government orders, internet outages), CSE will offer you:

• A free reschedule to the next mutually convenient slot, or
• A full refund of the consultation fee.

This is your exclusive remedy in such cases. CSE is not liable for any consequential or incidental costs (travel, lost productivity, third-party fees) you may have incurred in anticipation of the session.

10. Contact & Grievance Officer

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