Terms and Conditions

1. About these Terms and eligibility

1.1These Terms govern use of the Site and the purchase or provision of services by Indian MSME Helpline Private Limited a Private Limited Company registered under Companies Act, 2013, with its registered office at 1106, New Delhi House Barakhamba Road, Connaught Place, Delhi, India, 110001, India. In these Terms, “we”, “us” and “the Chamber” refer to that entity.

1.2By using the Site, you agree to the provisions that apply to website use. Service-specific obligations apply only where you purchase a Plan or enter into an Engagement after being given access to these Terms. Submitting an enquiry does not by itself make you a client or oblige us to accept a matter.

1.3You must be at least 18 years old to purchase a Plan or instruct us in your own name. Where you act for a company, LLP, partnership, trust or other person, you confirm that you have authority to do so.

1.4These Terms should be read with the Engagement Letter, Service Schedule, Refund and Cancellation Policy, Disclaimer and, where relevant, the Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. The Engagement Letter prevails on the accepted scope, responsible advocate, professional fee and matter-specific terms.

2. Definitions

3. Website information and formation of an Engagement

3.1The Site provides general information about legal and related professional services. It is not a substitute for advice based on your facts and should not be treated as a legal opinion, assurance or invitation to act without obtaining appropriate advice.

3.2An advocate-client relationship begins only after we have completed the necessary conflict and onboarding checks, accepted the Engagement in writing, issued or confirmed an Engagement Letter, and any stated payment condition has been satisfied.

3.3We may decline a proposed Engagement where a conflict exists, the matter is outside our competence or permitted practice, required information is not supplied, the requested action is unlawful or professionally improper, or we do not have adequate capacity. Any amount due back will be handled under the Refund and Cancellation Policy.

3.4We aim to communicate acceptance or rejection promptly after receiving sufficient information. Any indicative onboarding period on the Site is a service target, not a guarantee, and may be extended where checks or documents are incomplete.

3.5We may engage counsel, local advocates, experts, agents or other professionals where reasonably required. We will disclose material external fees or obtain approval where those costs fall outside the agreed scope.

4. Your instructions, cooperation and deadlines

4.1You must provide accurate, complete and current instructions, identify all relevant parties, disclose known conflicts, and supply documents reasonably required for the Engagement. You must promptly correct information that becomes inaccurate.

4.2Our advice and work product depend on the facts and documents provided. We are not responsible for an adverse consequence to the extent it results from material information being withheld, delayed, falsified or supplied inaccurately, except where the law does not permit such a limitation.

4.3You must notify us immediately of any hearing, limitation date, statutory deadline, notice period, regulatory response date or other time-sensitive event. No deadline is treated as accepted by us until we confirm it in writing.

4.4You must respond within a reasonable time to requests for instructions, approvals, signatures, fees, documents and verification. Delay may affect the timetable or our ability to continue.

4.5You must not ask us to mislead a court, authority or another person, conceal material facts, fabricate evidence, misuse legal process or take any unlawful or professionally improper action. Advocates retain independent professional judgment and duties to courts and the administration of justice.

5. Scope, service standards and exclusions

5.1The Service Schedule and Engagement Letter define what is included. Website descriptions are indicative and may be clarified during onboarding. Where they differ, the Engagement Letter prevails for the current Engagement.

5.2Response or delivery periods begin only after we have accepted the relevant task and received complete instructions, documents and required payment. A time stated as an estimate or target is not a guaranteed deadline unless expressly confirmed as such in writing.

5.3Consultations, reviews, notices or other entitlements included in a Plan do not carry forward beyond the Retainership Period unless the Engagement Letter expressly allows it.

5.4Unless expressly included, the following are charged separately or require a separate Engagement:

• court, tribunal, arbitration, mediation, registry or regulatory appearances and related pleadings;
• court fees, stamp duty, registration charges, filing fees, statutory levies and government fees;
• travel, accommodation, courier and other reasonable out-of-pocket expenses;
• fees of senior counsel, local counsel, experts, investigators, valuers, agents and third-party professionals;
• large-scale due diligence, extensive document review, translation, certification or work beyond the Plan limits; and
• urgent work, work outside normal hours or matters requiring substantially greater complexity or volume than disclosed.

5.5No outcome is guaranteed. Decisions of courts, tribunals, regulators, registries, counterparties and other third parties are outside our control. Any assessment of prospects is a professional opinion based on the information available at that time, not a promise of result.

6. Fees, payment, taxes, renewal and refunds

6.1The applicable professional fee and billing cycle are communicated to you before purchase and confirmed in the invoice, Service Schedule or Engagement Letter. A personalised written quote prevails over any general website indication.

6.2Payment may be collected through an authorised third-party payment service provider. We do not ordinarily receive or store complete card credentials, CVV or payment authentication data. The payment provider’s terms also apply to its processing of the transaction.

6.3We issue invoices and apply GST or other taxes in accordance with applicable law. Where the recipient is legally required to discharge GST under reverse charge, the recipient remains responsible for that payment. You must provide accurate registration, turnover and tax details required for invoicing.

6.4Where tax is required to be deducted at source, you must deduct and deposit it in accordance with law and provide the corresponding certificate or other evidence so that the amount can be credited correctly.

6.5A Plan renews only where you actively renew it or have separately authorised a recurring payment arrangement. Any recurring arrangement must be disclosed before activation and may be cancelled in the manner stated at purchase.

6.6We may pause non-urgent work for overdue fees after reasonable written notice, subject to applicable professional duties, court rules and the need to avoid reasonably foreseeable prejudice in a live matter.

6.7Cancellations and refunds are governed by the Refund and Cancellation Policy and any matter-specific provision in the Engagement Letter. A payment-gateway failure does not remove any refund or service obligation that we otherwise owe.

7. Conflicts, professional independence and termination

7.1We conduct conflict checks using the names and information supplied. You must identify related entities, counterparties, key individuals and any other names reasonably needed for the check. A cleared check does not prevent a later conflict from arising as facts or parties change.

7.2You may terminate a Plan or Engagement by written notice. We may withdraw or terminate for sufficient cause, including a conflict, unlawful or improper instructions, material non-cooperation, material misrepresentation, prolonged non-payment or a breakdown of the professional relationship, subject to applicable law and professional rules.

7.3Where an advocate is on record before a court or tribunal, withdrawal is subject to the applicable procedure and any required permission. We will take reasonable steps to give notice, identify material deadlines and avoid foreseeable prejudice while you arrange replacement representation.

7.4On termination, we will provide or make available the client papers and work product that may properly be released, normally within 15 working days after a written request and settlement of reasonable copying or delivery costs. We may retain copies where reasonably required for legal, tax, regulatory, professional, privilege, insurance or claim-defence purposes.

7.5Refund of any unearned part of a fee is determined under the Refund and Cancellation Policy, the Engagement Letter and applicable professional obligations.

8. Confidentiality, privilege and personal data

8.1We maintain confidentiality over information received in the course of an Engagement, subject to the Engagement Letter, professional duties and lawful exceptions.

8.2Communications and documents may be protected by professional privilege under Sections 132 to 134 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 where the statutory conditions are met. Privilege is subject to legal exceptions, including communications made in furtherance of an illegal purpose and facts showing a crime or fraud committed after professional service began.

8.3Administrative, commercial or public communications are not automatically privileged merely because they are sent to us. You should use the communication channel we specify for confidential or highly sensitive material and avoid sending unnecessary passwords, complete payment credentials or identity documents.

8.4We process personal data in accordance with the Privacy Policy and applicable data-protection and information-technology law. The DPDP Act and Rules are applied from the relevant commencement dates and to the extent applicable to the processing concerned.

8.5Confidentiality obligations continue after expiry or termination, subject to legal disclosure duties and other lawful exceptions.

9. Intellectual property and documents

9.1The Site, its layout, text, graphics, software, logos and other original material are owned by us or used under licence and are protected by applicable intellectual-property law.

9.2You may access and use the Site for lawful personal or internal business purposes. You may not commercially reproduce, republish, sell, scrape, reverse engineer, interfere with or falsely associate yourself with the Site, our name or our marks, except where law expressly permits it or we consent in writing.

9.3You retain rights in material you provide. You grant us a limited right to use, copy, store, transmit and otherwise process it only as reasonably required for the proposed or accepted Engagement, practice administration, legal and professional compliance, billing, record keeping and the establishment, exercise or defence of claims.

9.4After payment of the applicable fee, you may use a document or other deliverable prepared specifically for you for the purpose for which it was supplied. Our pre-existing templates, precedents, research systems, methods, know-how and reusable drafting elements remain ours. You may not resell or commercially distribute a deliverable as a template or product without written permission.

9.5We do not publish your identity, matter details, testimonial or case study for promotion without prior written permission and compliance with applicable professional rules.

10. Site availability and third-party services

10.1The Site is provided on an “as available” basis. We do not guarantee uninterrupted access, permanent availability, compatibility with every device, or that every general-information page will remain complete and current.

10.2The Site may link to or rely on third-party services such as payment gateways, communication services, maps, social-media platforms, hosting or security providers. Their availability, content and independent processing are governed by their own terms and policies.

10.3A third-party link does not by itself constitute an endorsement. Please report a failed or disputed payment to us promptly so that we can verify our records and assist with reconciliation.

10.4We may restrict access or take protective action where we reasonably suspect unlawful activity, automated abuse, malware, interference with security or misuse of our name, content or systems.

11. Disclaimers and liability

11.1General information on the Site is not warranted to be complete, current or suitable for a particular matter. Professional work under an Engagement is performed with the skill, care, diligence and independence required by applicable law and professional standards.

11.2We are not responsible for delay or loss caused by events outside our reasonable control, a third party’s decision or system, or your failure to provide timely and accurate instructions, except to the extent the consequence was caused or materially contributed to by our breach of an applicable duty.

11.3To the extent permitted by law, neither party is liable for remote or indirect loss that was not reasonably foreseeable when the relevant obligation arose. This does not exclude liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted.

11.4Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, wilful misconduct, breach of a non-excludable statutory or professional duty, or any other liability that applicable law does not permit the parties to exclude or limit.

11.5Statutory limitation periods are not shortened by these Terms. Any matter-specific allocation of risk must be express, lawful and recorded in the Engagement Letter.

12. Governing law and dispute resolution

12.1These Terms and each Engagement are governed by the laws of India.

12.2Before commencing contractual proceedings, either party should give written notice of the dispute and allow 30 days for good-faith resolution through the grievance contact or the advocates responsible for the Engagement.

12.3A contractual dispute that remains unresolved and is legally capable of arbitration may be referred to a sole arbitrator under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The arbitrator will be appointed by mutual agreement or, failing agreement, through the procedure provided by that Act. The seat and venue will be New Delhi, India, and the proceedings will be in English, unless the parties agree otherwise.

12.4Courts of competent jurisdiction at New Delhi may exercise jurisdiction where the law permits that forum, including for interim measures and for disputes that are not lawfully arbitrable.

12.5Nothing in this clause restricts a person from approaching a State Bar Council, a court, the Data Protection Board of India when the relevant statutory provisions apply, or another regulator or authority that has non-excludable jurisdiction.

13. Grievances

13.1Service, billing and website complaints may be sent to the Grievance Officer. Privacy requests and personal-data grievances should also follow the procedure stated in the Privacy Policy.

13.2We aim to acknowledge a complaint within 3 working days and ordinarily resolve it within 30 days. A shorter period may be used where the nature of the issue or an applicable rule requires it. Where additional time is reasonably needed, we will explain the reason and provide an updated target date.

13.3A grievance should include your name and contact details, the relevant matter or transaction reference, a clear description of the issue, supporting documents and the outcome requested.

14. Amendments and general provisions

14.1We may update these Terms by publishing a new version and effective date. A material change does not retrospectively alter the agreed terms of an existing paid Retainership Period or accepted Engagement unless the parties agree in writing or the change is required by law.

14.2Neither party is liable for a failure or delay caused by an event beyond its reasonable control, provided the affected party gives notice where practicable and takes reasonable steps to reduce the effect. This does not excuse payment already due or override professional duties in a live matter.

14.3If a provision is held invalid or unenforceable, it will be limited or severed only to the extent necessary and the remaining provisions continue.

14.4You may not transfer an Engagement without our written consent. We may restructure or transfer Site operations to a lawful successor, but an advocate-client Engagement will not be transferred without the checks, disclosures and consent required by law and professional rules.

14.5A failure or delay in exercising a right is not a waiver. A waiver must be clear and in writing.

14.6These Terms, the Engagement Letter, Service Schedule, applicable invoice and incorporated policies constitute the agreement on the relevant Site use, Plan or Engagement. They do not exclude rights or duties that cannot lawfully be excluded.

14.7Notices to us should be sent to [email protected] and the postal address below. Notices to you may be sent to the latest contact details you provided. Electronic notices are treated as received when delivered without a failure notification, subject to proof to the contrary.

15. Contact and version