Legal Jurisdiction & Dispute Resolution

1. Governing Law and Exclusive Jurisdiction

All commercial transactions, agreements and disputes arising out of or in connection with MeeThought E-Commerce Private Limited shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India.

• Exclusive venue: the User or Buyer agrees that any legal action or proceeding shall be brought exclusively in the courts of competent jurisdiction located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India, jurisdiction covering pincode 500049.
• Waiver: the User or Buyer hereby irrevocably waives any objection which they may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any such suit, action or proceeding in the aforesaid courts in Hyderabad.

2. Arbitration Clause, for international clients

To avoid lengthy court processes in foreign jurisdictions, we employ an arbitration clause.

• Seat of arbitration: Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
• Language: English.
• Number of arbitrators: sole arbitrator appointed by MeeThought E-Commerce Private Limited.

3. Accepted Payment Modes, export specific

To ensure compliance with FEMA, the Foreign Exchange Management Act, and RBI, Reserve Bank of India, regulations, we accept payments via the following modes only.

Telegraphic Transfer, T/T, or wire transfer

Standard term: 50 percent advance at the time of Order Confirmation, and the remaining 50 percent balance against the scanned copy of the Bill of Lading, BL, prior to the release of original documents.

Letter of Credit, L/C

• Accepted for orders exceeding 20,000 USD, or equivalent.
• Must be irrevocable, confirmed, and at sight, opened from a top tier international bank.
• All L/C discrepancy charges are to be borne by the applicant, the buyer.

4. Bank Charges and Currency

• Sender's charges: all bank charges, intermediary bank fees and commissions levied outside India are to be borne by the buyer.
• Beneficiary's charges: bank charges levied by our bank in India will be borne by MeeThought.
• Exchange rate fluctuations: prices quoted in foreign currency, USD or EUR, are valid for 7 days. Significant currency fluctuations prior to the receipt of advance payment may result in a revised Proforma Invoice.

5. Compliance Documents, FIRC and e-BRC

Payments must be received through official banking channels to generate the Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate, FIRC, and Electronic Bank Realization Certificate, e-BRC, as per Indian export laws. We do not accept cash or third party payments for exports.

6. Cargo Definitions

LCL, Less than Container Load

• For smaller orders where goods are consolidated with other shippers.
• Volume weight: freight is calculated based on CBM, cubic meter, or volumetric weight, whichever is higher.
• Consolidation delays: MeeThought is not liable for minor delays caused by the freight forwarder waiting to fill the container, consolidation time.

FCL, Full Container Load

For bulk orders where the buyer utilises the entire container, 20ft or 40ft.

7. Incoterms, liability transfer

Unless specific terms are agreed upon in the Proforma Invoice, our standard operations adhere to Incoterms 2020.

• Ex-Works, EXW Hyderabad: buyer arranges pickup from our Hyderabad warehouse. Our liability ends once goods are handed over to your carrier.
• FOB, Free on Board, Indian port: we cover transport, handling and custom clearance up to the Indian port, for example Chennai, Vizag or Nhava Sheva. Risk transfers to the buyer once goods are loaded on the vessel.
• CIF, Cost Insurance Freight: we pay for shipping and minimum insurance to the buyer's destination port. Buyer is responsible for unloading charges and import duties at the destination.

8. Customs and Import Duties, destination

• Importer of Record: the buyer is legally the Importer of Record.
• Duties: all import duties, VAT, GST, tariffs, port handling charges, THC at destination, and demurrage charges if the buyer delays clearing the goods, are the sole responsibility of the buyer.
• Rejection: if goods are rejected by destination customs due to a change in local regulations or lack of import permits by the buyer, no refund will be issued.

9. Force Majeure, act of God

MeeThought E-Commerce Private Limited shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performance due to causes beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to:

• Acts of God: floods, earthquakes, cyclones.
• Pandemics, epidemics or quarantine restrictions.
• War, civil commotion or terrorist activities.
• Government bans on the export of specific commodities, for example a sudden ban on wheat, onion or sugar exports by the Government of India.
• Port strikes or global logistics disruptions, for example a Suez Canal blockage.

In such events, the delivery timeline shall be extended by the duration of the delay.