Return, Refund & Cancellation Policy

This Return, Refund & Cancellation Policy (“Policy”) governs all purchases made on the Taste of Tradition website. We are a homemade food brand — primarily pickles and traditional Indian foods — and our policies reflect the unique nature of food products.

This Policy is compliant with the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, and applicable FSSAI food regulations.

Your ability to cancel an order depends entirely on whether the order has been processed and shipped. Once your order leaves our facility, it cannot be cancelled.

We reserve the right to cancel orders in cases of: (a) product being out of stock, (b) pricing errors on our website, (c) suspected fraudulent activity, or (d) inability to service your pincode. In such cases, a full refund is processed automatically.

Returns are accepted only for specific, verifiable product issues. All valid return claims must be raised within 48 hours of delivery with proper photographic or video evidence.

Due to the perishable and consumable nature of our products, and to comply with FSSAI food safety regulations, the following cannot be returned under any circumstances:

• Any opened or used food product — Once a jar is opened or the food seal is broken by the customer, it cannot be returned for hygiene and safety reasons.
• Products returned without original packaging — The original jar, lid, and label must all be intact.
• Products stored incorrectly after delivery — If the product’s quality deteriorated due to improper storage by the customer (e.g., not refrigerating as instructed), this is not our liability.
• Gift orders sent directly to recipients — Returns on gift orders are only accepted if reported by the gift recipient with evidence and coordinated through the original buyer’s account.
• Products purchased on sale or with special discount codes — Heavily discounted sale items may be marked as “final sale” at the time of purchase and may not be eligible for return.
• Customised or made-to-order products — Custom pickle blends, special orders, or bulk orders customised to your specifications are non-returnable.
• Products past their best-before date at the time of return request — We cannot process returns for products that are expired from the customer’s side.

Follow these steps to raise a valid return or refund request. Incomplete submissions will delay processing.

Once your refund is approved, the amount is processed back to the original payment method used during purchase. We do not issue refunds via cash or cheque for online orders.

Here is a complete view of the refund process timeline, from the moment you raise a claim to when the money reaches your account:

We take full responsibility for products that arrive damaged, broken, or defective due to transit mishandling or our packaging. This is our commitment to you:

If you receive a product that is different from what you ordered (wrong flavour, wrong variant, wrong item entirely), we will make it right immediately. This is 100% our responsibility.

• Report within 48 hours of delivery with a photo showing the product label and your order confirmation details.
• We will arrange for a free collection of the wrong item (you do not need to bear return shipping).
• The correct product will be dispatched within 1–2 business days of confirming the error.
• If the correct product is out of stock, you will receive a full refund within 5–7 business days.
• You are not required to pay anything additional for resolving a wrong product delivery.

Cash on Delivery (COD) orders have specific refund rules due to the nature of advance payment collection:

For COD refunds that are approved, the amount is transferred to your bank account via NEFT or IMPS. Please provide your bank account details (account number, IFSC, and account holder name) when requesting the refund. We do not transfer via UPI for COD refunds unless specifically agreed.

If all 3 delivery attempts by the courier fail and the order is returned to our warehouse (Return to Origin / RTO), the following refund rules apply for prepaid (online payment) orders:

In certain situations, a partial refund (rather than a full refund) may be issued. The following scenarios may result in a partial refund:

• Only part of the order was damaged: If you ordered 3 jars and only 1 was broken, we refund or replace only the damaged item, not the entire order.
• Order cancelled after packing but before dispatch: A handling fee of 10–15% may be deducted.
• Failed delivery (prepaid): Approximately ~25% refund after deducting shipping and handling costs (as detailed in Section 11).
• Product returned in less-than-original condition: If the product is returned to us in a state worse than how we shipped it (e.g., broken by the customer), a higher deduction applies.
• Sealed unused product return: If a sealed, unopened product return is approved on a case-by-case basis, a restocking fee of 10–20% may apply.

In all cases, we will clearly communicate the refund amount and the reason for any deduction before processing. You have the right to dispute any deduction you believe is unfair.

We offer exchanges (replacement product dispatch) as an alternative to refunds in the following cases:

• Broken or damaged product: We can send a replacement jar of the same product instead of a refund, subject to availability.
• Wrong product delivered: We will collect the wrong item and send the correct one at no additional cost.
• Product out of stock for replacement: If the exact product you ordered is out of stock, we will offer either a refund or a substitute product of equal or greater value (with your approval).

Exchanges are processed within 2–4 business days of approval. A replacement order will be created in our system and dispatched with full tracking information sent to your registered mobile/email.

What to record in your unboxing video:

Why this matters:

• An unboxing video removes all doubt about whether damage happened during transit or post-delivery.
• Claims with video evidence are resolved significantly faster (usually 24–48 hours vs. 3–5 days without).
• Without evidence, we may need to initiate a courier investigation which can take 7–15 days.
• The video protects you: with it, no one can dispute your claim that damage occurred before you opened the package.
• A 60-second video takes minimal effort and provides maximum protection for your purchase.

We hope to resolve every concern amicably and quickly. Our escalation process is designed to be fair, transparent, and swift:

We want every customer to know their rights. If you are unsatisfied with our resolution, you are always entitled to approach the following government authorities:

Our support team is available Monday to Saturday, 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM IST to assist with all return, refund, and cancellation-related queries.