Return & Refund Policy
Category return eligibility matrix, claim submission guidelines, and refund settlement methods
1. Policy Hierarchy & Category Matrix
Return eligibility on HaatKaro is governed by a strict hierarchy: Category Hard Legal Rules supersede individual merchant store policies and product-level toggles. A merchant may adopt a return policy that is stricter than platform standards, but may never weaken or bypass category non-returnability restrictions.
The implemented controls and policy mappings have passed HaatKaro's technical verification against the reviewed requirements. Ongoing legal and tax compliance remains subject to professional legal/CA review, regulatory changes, and operational adherence.
| Category | Eligibility Window | Inspection & Policy Designation |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh Produce (Fruits & Vegetables) | Doorstep inspection only | Inspect immediately upon delivery. Reject rotten, damaged, or wrong items at the door. Post-delivery claims are not accepted. |
| Dairy, Bakery, Sweets & Cooked Foods | Doorstep inspection only | Inspect at delivery for spoilage, souring, or leakage. Returnable only if reported immediately. |
| Packaged FMCG & Dry Groceries | Up to 24–48 Hours | Must be unopened and untampered with seals, barcodes, and MRP tags intact. Subject to store-level policy. |
| Personal Care & Hygiene Products | Non-Returnable | Restricted or policy-excluded return categories: cannot be returned once delivered based on product nature, hygiene, perishability, applicable law, and published return conditions. |
2. Filing a Return Claim (Damaged, Spoiled, or Missing Items)
If an item arrives damaged, expired, or missing from your delivered order, file a Return Claim via the in-app order page within 4 hours of delivery:
- Mandatory Photo Evidence: Provide clear photos showing the damaged product, merchant packaging, and printed barcode/receipt.
- Claims Verification: Return claims are reviewed by the operations team and cross-verified against merchant packaging records prior to refund authorization.
3. Refund Disbursal Methods, Deductions & Timelines
Approved customer refunds are paid in legal tender — currently in cash in person for Cash on Delivery orders, and by verified bank/UPI transfer once available:
- Pre-Dispatch Cancellations: Orders cancelled by HaatKaro or the merchant prior to dispatch receive a 100% full refund encompassing merchandise and delivery charges.
- Delivered Item Returns: For approved returns of delivered merchandise, the refund encompasses the merchandise value. Delivery charges are retained to cover actual logistics expenses incurred unless the return was necessitated solely by merchant packaging defect, wrong item dispatch, or transit spoilage.
- Current Cash on Delivery refunds: When a customer has already paid for an order in cash and an eligible refund is approved, HaatKaro may return the approved amount directly in cash through its proprietor or an authorised representative, after verifying the customer and recording the customer's acknowledgement of the payment. Once HaatKaro's authorised business banking and refund-transfer facilities are operational, eligible COD refunds may also be paid by bank transfer or UPI to verified payment details. A refund is considered completed only after the customer has received and acknowledged the cash refund, or the bank/UPI transfer has been confirmed. If an order is cancelled before any payment has been collected, no monetary refund is required. HaatKaro will tell you which refund method is available and the expected timing for your refund; it does not promise a fixed transfer time. Your statutory rights as a consumer are not affected.
- Promotional credits are not refunds: Where available, referral or promotional credits may reduce charges on qualifying purchases under their published offer conditions. Such credits are not a cash deposit, are not withdrawable as cash, and are not used to replace a monetary refund owed to a customer.
- Future payment methods: If online checkout or a monetary refund-wallet facility is introduced later, the applicable payment and refund methods and terms will be updated and disclosed before activation.
4. Escalations & Claims Helpdesk
For status updates on active return claims, email our claims team at admin@haatkaro.in or visit Customer Support.