Trade Assurance — Terms of Service

BharatSeal Trade Assurance (“TA”) is an optional escrow-based payment protection service for buyers and sellers transacting on the BharatSeal B2B marketplace. When a buyer transacts with a Trade Assurance–enabled seller, payment is captured by BharatSeal and held in escrow until the agreed milestone trigger is met, at which point the funds are transferred to the seller.

Trade Assurance is available to:

• Buyers who are registered entities on BharatSeal with a verified GST number.
• Sellers who are KYB-verified entities with an active Razorpay Linked Account.

1. On checkout, the buyer's payment is captured by Razorpay and held in BharatSeal's platform balance (the “escrow”).
2. Funds are held until one of the following release triggers occurs:
   • buyer_confirmed — the buyer explicitly confirms receipt and acceptance.
   • auto_30d_post_delivery — 30 calendar days after the shipment tracking shows “Delivered”, if the buyer has not raised a dispute or confirmed.
   • custom_date — a specific date agreed between buyer and seller at order creation.
3. BharatSeal does not earn interest on escrowed funds. The escrow balance is ring-fenced and not used for operational expenses.

The following deductions are applied at the time of release:

The net amount transferred to the seller is: Gross − Platform Fee − GST on Fee − TCS − TDS.

BharatSeal will issue the following documents to eligible parties:

• Rule 46 Tax Invoice — issued per milestone release (within 48 hours of release).
• Form 16A — quarterly TDS certificate under Sec 194-O (issued within 15 days of quarter end).
• GSTR-8 — filed quarterly by BharatSeal as the E-commerce Operator (Sec 52 CGST).
• Settlement Statement — monthly PDF + CSV summarising all payouts (available in the seller dashboard by the 1st of the following month).

1. A buyer may raise a dispute within 7 calendar days of the auto_release_at date by filing via the BharatSeal disputes portal.
2. BharatSeal's dispute team will review evidence from both parties within 5 business days.
3. Possible outcomes:
   • Buyer-favourable — full or partial refund processed; escrowed funds returned to the buyer via Razorpay refund.
   • Seller-favourable — escrow released to the seller in full.
   • Split settlement — agreed partial refund + partial release (requires both parties' consent).
4. BharatSeal's dispute decision is final. Either party may escalate to a consumer forum or court of competent jurisdiction in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India after exhausting the BharatSeal process.

1. If the buyer's bank files a chargeback, BharatSeal will freeze the escrowed funds pending investigation.
2. BharatSeal will contest the chargeback on the seller's behalf using available evidence (shipment tracking, delivery confirmation, order documents).
3. If the chargeback is lost, the funds are returned to the buyer's bank. BharatSeal will not be liable for the seller's loss in a lost chargeback, except in cases of platform error.

1. BharatSeal is not liable for delays in Razorpay's transfer settlement (typically T+2 banking days).
2. BharatSeal is not liable for seller bank account issues that prevent transfer receipt.
3. Maximum liability under Trade Assurance is limited to the value of the specific transaction in dispute.

These Terms are governed by the laws of India. Disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of courts in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

For Trade Assurance support: care@bharatseal.io — response within 2 business hours during 9 AM – 6 PM IST, Mon–Sat.