Refund & Cancellation Policy

1. Scope

This Refund & Cancellation Policy applies to all engagements between Global Marketing Zone (“GMZ”) and its clients, including project-based work, monthly retainers, and milestone-based contracts. It supplements our Terms of Service and any specific Statement of Work (“SOW”) you have signed. Where the SOW explicitly overrides a clause here, the SOW prevails.

2. Project-Based Work

• Cancellation within 7 days of signing, before work has begun — full refund of any advance paid, minus payment processing fees (typically 2-3% of the transaction value) and any third-party costs already incurred (e.g., domain registrations, hosting, stock photos purchased on your behalf).
• Cancellation after work has begun — proportional refund for the undelivered scope. Work already completed (including drafts, designs, code, research, or strategy documents shared with you) is billable at the agreed rate and deducted from any refund.
• Refunds are processed within 14 business days of approval.

3. Retainer Engagements

• Either party may cancel a monthly retainer with 30 days' written notice.
• No refund is issued for the current billing cycle; service continues until the end of the period you have paid for.
• Advance notice given mid-cycle takes effect at the end of the current cycle. The next billing cycle is not charged.
• Time not utilized during a billing cycle (e.g., hours not consumed in a monthly hour-based retainer) does not carry forward and is not refundable, unless the SOW states otherwise.

4. Milestone-Based Projects

• Completed milestones are non-refundable, as the work has been delivered and accepted.
• Future milestones may be cancelled with written notice. Any advance paid for an unstarted milestone is refunded proportionally to work not yet performed.
• If a milestone is partially complete at cancellation, the completed portion is billed at the agreed milestone rate; the remainder is refunded.

5. Non-Refundable Items

The following are non-refundable once incurred:

• Third-party costs already paid on your behalf — ad spend (Google Ads, Meta Ads, etc.), domain registrations, hosting renewals, SSL certificates, stock photos, premium fonts or plugins, and similar.
• Work already delivered — including approved designs, deployed code, published content, completed research or audits, and any reports shared with you.
• Custom assets or licenses purchased specifically for your engagement that cannot be reused.

6. How to Request a Refund

To request a cancellation or refund, email contact@globalmarketingzone.in with:

• Your name and company name
• Your invoice number(s)
• The engagement or SOW reference
• The reason for cancellation

We will acknowledge your request within 2 business days and process approved refunds within 14 business days. Refunds are issued to the original payment method.

7. GST Implications

Refunds are processed in line with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rules applicable in India. Where a refund requires GST adjustment (e.g., input tax credit reversal), we will issue a credit note reflecting the adjustment. The credit note will be visible in your GST portal as required. Refund amounts may be net of applicable taxes, where the tax has already been remitted to the government.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Refund & Cancellation Policy from time to time. Changes do not affect engagements already in progress, which remain governed by the policy in effect on the date of signing your SOW.