Policy · Returns & refunds

Returns & refunds

Reporting window

Report damage, missing items, or fulfilment errors within 7 calendar days of delivery. Email gathri.team@gmail.com with your order ID and a photo of the issue. The photo should clearly show the damage or issue, the intact Place Stamp on the outer mailer, and the order ID label. Reports outside the 7-day window can't be processed reliably — heritage food is perishable and chains of custody fade.

What we replace or refund

No need to ship anything back. For approved claims, your photo evidence is sufficient — you keep the item (or discard it locally, if it's perishable or damaged). We don't ask customers to repackage and courier food back to us; reverse logistics is expensive for both of us, and food that's been out of cold-chain can't safely re-enter our supply chain anyway. You choose between:

• Full refund — the entire item amount goes back to your original payment method within 5–7 business days. No deductions, no handling fees.
• Replacement — we ship the item again with the next-day batch from that city (only available if the original is still in stock with the seller; otherwise we default to a refund).

We refund or replace in the following scenarios:

• Items damaged in transit (broken seal, crushed pack, leaked oil)
• Items missing from your parcel
• Items received that don't match what you ordered
• Items past their expiry date on arrival
• Quality issues with the original seller's pack (off-smell, mould, infestation)

What is not a defect

Gathri sources from small-batch artisan shops, not industrial co-packs. Some natural variation is built into what you receive — and it's the price of actual heritage curation versus FMCG uniformity. These are not defects and aren't eligible for refund:

• Slight batch-to-batch variation in colour, texture, or saltiness
• Natural oil separation in cold-pressed or ghee-rich items
• Occasional broken pieces in fragile fried snacks from the Snacks Gathri — even with our bubble-wrap lining, minor breakage is normal
• Regional bitterness or pungency in heritage spices from the Masala or Winter Gathri that may differ from a mass-market version you're used to
• Devanagari or regional-language labels on the original seller's pack — items arrive in the shop's original packaging, not re-labelled

What we cannot accept

• Opened or partially-consumed food items (with no quality defect)
• Change-of-mind returns once the parcel has been dispatched
• Issues reported more than 7 days after delivery

Refund timeline

Approved refunds are processed to the original payment source within 5–7 business days of approval. Settlement times to your bank / UPI app may add another 2–3 business days depending on the payment instrument. You'll receive an email when the refund is initiated and a separate confirmation from your payment app on receipt.

Order cancellation

Orders can be cancelled for a full refund any time before 9:00 IST the next morning after order placement (i.e. before the city-friend starts the seller-circuit pickup). After pickup begins the parcel is already moving and only the post-delivery return process above applies. Cancel by emailing gathri.team@gmail.com with your order ID.

Last updated: 2026-05-17. Operated by Gathri from Indore.