📜 Terms of Use & Privacy Policy

1. Eligibility

• You must be at least 18 years of age to use this platform. By using it you represent that you are 18 or older.
• Users below 18 may use the platform only under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to these Terms.
• Use is restricted to persons who can enter into legally binding contracts under the Indian Contract Act, 1872.
• The platform is intended for use within the Republic of India. Use from other jurisdictions is at the user's own risk.

2. Account Registration & Responsibility

• To place orders you must register with a valid email address and verify it.
• Account Security: You are solely responsible for the confidentiality of your login credentials. Notify us immediately of any unauthorised use.
• Accuracy: You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information and to update it as necessary.
• Terai Roots reserves the right to suspend or terminate accounts that provide false information or violate these Terms.
• One individual may not maintain multiple accounts for fraudulent purposes.

3. Use of the Platform

Permitted Use: You may use this platform for lawful personal, non-commercial purchasing of listed products.

Prohibited Uses: You must not:

• Use the platform for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable law.
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the platform, its servers, or databases.
• Introduce malware, viruses, or any harmful code.
• Engage in any activity that disrupts or interferes with platform functionality.
• Scrape, crawl, or extract data without written consent.
• Impersonate any person, entity, or Terai Roots representative.
• Engage in price manipulation, fake reviews, or other deceptive practices.
• Circumvent any technical or security measures.

Violation may constitute an offence under the IT Act, 2000 (Sections 43, 65, 66, 66C, 66D), the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, or other applicable law.

4. Products & Orders

• Terai Roots endeavours to ensure product descriptions, prices, and availability are accurate; errors may occur.
• An order placed by you is an offer to purchase. A binding contract is formed only upon our order confirmation.
• We reserve the right to cancel orders due to pricing errors, stock unavailability, or suspected fraud, with a full refund.
• Per the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, mandatory disclosures (seller details, return policy, total price) are provided at checkout.

5. Intellectual Property

• All content — text, images, logos, software, and graphics — is owned by or licensed to Terai Roots and protected under the Copyright Act, 1957 and Trade Marks Act, 1999.
• You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to access the platform for personal, non-commercial use only.
• You must not reproduce, distribute, modify, or create derivative works without prior written permission.
• The Terai Roots name, logo, and product names are trademarks. Unauthorised use is prohibited.

6. Limitation of Liability

• The platform is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind, to the maximum extent permitted by law.
• Terai Roots shall not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages; loss of profits, data, or goodwill; or damages from inability to access the platform.
• Our aggregate liability for any claim shall not exceed the total amount paid by you for the relevant order.
• Nothing excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or any liability that cannot be excluded by applicable Indian law.

7. Third-Party Services

• The platform may link to third-party websites or services (payment gateways, logistics providers) for convenience only.
• Terai Roots has no control over third-party content or practices and is not responsible for them.
• Your interaction with third-party services is governed by their respective terms and privacy policies.

8. Modifications & Termination

• Terai Roots may modify, suspend, or terminate the platform or any feature at any time.
• These Terms may be amended at any time. Continued use after the effective date of revisions constitutes acceptance.
• We will endeavour to provide reasonable notice of material changes via the platform.

9. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of India. Courts in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh shall have exclusive jurisdiction, subject to the arbitration clause below.

10. Dispute Resolution

• Informal Resolution: Both parties agree to first attempt good-faith negotiation within 30 days of written notice.
• Arbitration: If informal resolution fails, disputes shall be resolved by binding arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (as amended 2019), by a sole agreed arbitrator seated in India (English language).
• Consumer Disputes: Nothing in the above limits your rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 to file complaints with the relevant District, State, or National Consumer Commission.

11. Data Controller

Terai Roots, FF-130, Palika Bazar, Kapoorthala, Aliganj, Lucknow — 226024, is the data controller responsible for personal data collected through this platform. We are committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the IT Act 2000, IT (Reasonable Security Practices) Rules 2011 ("SPDI Rules"), Consumer Protection Act 2019, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 (DPDPA) to the extent applicable.

12. Data We Collect

We do not collect sensitive personal data (biometrics, financial account details, medical records) directly. Payment card data is handled exclusively by our PCI-DSS certified payment processors.

13. How We Use Your Data

• Order fulfilment: Processing and delivering orders, sending confirmations, managing returns and refunds.
• Account management: Creating and maintaining your account.
• Customer support: Responding to queries and resolving disputes.
• Platform improvement: Analysing usage patterns to improve products and services.
• Legal compliance: Meeting obligations under taxation, consumer protection, and other applicable laws.
• Security: Detecting and preventing fraud, abuse, and security threats.
• Marketing communications: Sending promotional offers only with your consent, which you may withdraw at any time.

14. Data Retention

• Active accounts: Data retained while account is active.
• Closed accounts: Identity and transaction data retained for 7 years to meet obligations under the Income Tax Act, 1961 and GST laws.
• Marketing data: Retained until you withdraw consent or request deletion.
• Authentication tokens expire after 90 days of inactivity and are deleted.

15. Cookies & Tracking

• The website uses cookies to maintain session state and authentication, remember cart contents and preferences, and analyse website traffic.
• The mobile application uses local storage (SharedPreferences) for authentication tokens and user preferences.
• You may disable cookies via your browser settings, but this may affect platform functionality.
• The mobile app does not track you across other applications.

16. Sharing Your Data

We share personal data only in the following circumstances:

• Service providers: Payment processors (Razorpay, Paytm), logistics partners, and IT service providers under data processing agreements.
• Legal obligations: When required by law, court order, or government authority.
• Business transfers: In connection with a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, subject to confidentiality obligations.
• Consent: With your explicit consent for any other purpose.

We do not sell or rent your personal data to third parties for their marketing purposes.

17. Your Rights

Under the SPDI Rules and applicable law, you have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Withdrawal of consent: Withdraw consent for marketing communications at any time.
• Deletion: Request deletion of your account and associated data (subject to legal retention obligations).
• Grievance redressal: Contact our Grievance Officer (see Section 19) for any privacy concerns.

18. Security Measures

• Passwords are stored as one-way hashes (bcrypt); plaintext passwords are never stored.
• API communications are secured using TLS 1.2+.
• Authentication tokens are cryptographically random (256-bit entropy).
• Access to backend systems is restricted on a need-to-know basis.
• We maintain an information security programme based on ISO/IEC 27001 principles.
• In the event of a data breach involving sensitive personal data, affected users and relevant authorities will be notified per applicable law.

19. Grievance Officer

In accordance with the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 and IT Act, 2000, we have appointed a Grievance Officer to address your concerns:

20. Amendments

Terai Roots may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via the platform and mobile application. Continued use after the effective date of changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.