Terms & Conditions

Welcome to Malabar Aromatics (accessible via malabararomatics.com, referred to as “we,” “us,” or “our”). These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of our website, digital storefront, content, and fulfillment services.

By accessing, browsing, or purchasing authentic whole spices from malabararomatics.com, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by these Terms, along with our Privacy Policy, Shipping & Delivery Policy, and Refund & Cancellation Policy under the Indian Contract Act, 1872 and the Information Technology Act, 2000. If you do not agree to these Terms, please discontinue use of our platform.

1. Eligibility & User Account Security

By accessing malabararomatics.com, you represent and warrant that:

• You are at least 18 years of age and legally capable of entering into binding contracts under the Indian Contract Act, 1872.
• If creating an account, all registration information provided by you is accurate, current, and complete.
• You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials, passwords, and restricted access to your device. You agree to accept responsibility for all activities occurring under your account.
• You will notify us immediately at contact@malabararomatics.com if you suspect any unauthorized breach or use of your credentials.

2. Product Authenticity, Harvests & Availability

Malabar Aromatics specializes in whole, unadulterated spices curated from single-estate agricultural sources in Kerala:

• Natural Agronomic Variance: Whole spices (including Black Pepper, Cardamom, Ceylon Cinnamon, Cloves, Mace, Nutmeg, Star Anise, and Bay Leaves) are natural agricultural commodities. Colors, pod sizes, grain surface textures, and essential oil levels may subtly vary between crop seasons, monsoon patterns, and harvest cycles as outlined on our Harvest Process page. Such variations are hallmarks of unadulterated nature, not manufacturing defects.
• Inventory & Stock Availability: We reserve the right to limit order quantities on scarce single-estate batches or retire products without prior notice. In the event an item becomes unavailable after order placement, we will contact you to arrange an immediate full refund or a mutually acceptable alternative.
• Packaging Presentations: Product imagery on our website accurately represents current packaging; however, minor visual updates to labels, seals, or carton prints may occur during production batch iterations.

3. Pricing, Taxation & Payment Processing

All commercial transactions are governed by transparent fiscal policies:

• Currency & GST: All prices displayed on malabararomatics.com are in Indian Rupees (&inr; / INR) and include all applicable Goods and Services Tax (GST) unless explicitly noted otherwise.
• Price Corrections: While we endeavor to ensure accurate pricing, inadvertent typographical errors may occur. If an item is listed at an incorrect price due to a system glitch, we reserve the right to cancel orders placed for that item and refund the amount paid.
• Secure Gateway Transactions: Payments are processed via PCI-DSS compliant third-party payment gateways. You agree to use valid payment instruments owned by you. We are not liable for transaction failures caused by banking network outages or payment gateway authentication issues.

4. Order Acceptance, Cancellation & Refusal

The receipt of an order confirmation email indicates that our systems have acknowledged your purchase request:

• We reserve the right to decline or cancel any order for reasons including non-serviceable shipping PIN codes, detected fraudulent payment patterns, or inventory discrepancies.
• Customer cancellations prior to courier dispatch and our return guidelines are strictly governed by our dedicated Refund & Cancellation Policy.

5. Intellectual Property Rights

All content published on malabararomatics.com—including but not limited to the brand name “Malabar Aromatics,” “The Spice Jar” slogan, brand logos, custom vector iconography, product packaging graphics, photographic artworks, text descriptions, layout styles, and software code—is the exclusive proprietary property of Malabar Aromatics and protected under the Copyright Act, 1957, the Trade Marks Act, 1999, and international copyright conventions.

6. Prohibited Uses & Conduct

When using our website, you agree that you will not:

• Use the site for any unlawful purpose or in violation of applicable local, state, national, or international regulations.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to our servers, user accounts, databases, or computer systems through hacking, password mining, or scraping.
• Deploy automated bots, spiders, or scripts to extract site data, images, prices, or product information.
• Transmit any viruses, worms, malware, or destructive code designed to disrupt normal site functionality.
• Engage in conduct that damages, overburdens, or impairs our server infrastructure or security firewalls.

7. Disclaimers & Culinary Guidance

The products offered on malabararomatics.com are intended purely as gourmet food seasonings, botanical aromatics, and culinary ingredients:

• Not Medical Advice: Any historical, traditional, or Ayurvedic culinary references on our website are provided for cultural and educational appreciation only. Our spices are not sold to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition or health disease.
• Allergies & Dietary Sensitivities: Customers with known botanical allergies, sensitivities, or medical restrictions should verify ingredients and consult a qualified healthcare provider prior to consumption.
• Website Availability: While we endeavor to ensure continuous uptime, we do not warrant that our website will be entirely uninterrupted, error-free, or exempt from routine server maintenance downtimes.

8. Limitation of Liability & Indemnity

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable Indian law:

• Malabar Aromatics, its owners, partners, affiliates, and logistical representatives shall not be liable for indirect, incidental, punitive, or consequential damages resulting from the use or inability to use our products or website.
• Our total aggregate liability for any direct claim arising from a product purchase shall not exceed the actual invoice amount paid by you for the specific item in dispute.
• You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Malabar Aromatics and its agents from any third-party claims, liabilities, damages, or legal expenses resulting from your breach of these Terms or misuse of this website.

9. Governing Law, Dispute Resolution & Jurisdiction

These Terms shall be interpreted, construed, and enforced exclusively in accordance with the substantive laws of the Republic of India:

• Informal Resolution: In the event of any grievance or dispute, parties agree to first attempt resolution amicably by contacting our support desk at contact@malabararomatics.com within 15 days of the occurrence.
• Exclusive Legal Jurisdiction: If a dispute cannot be resolved through mutual consultation, all legal proceedings, lawsuits, or statutory actions shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts in Gandhinagar / Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.

10. Contact Information & Grievance Redressal

In accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, inquiries, notices, or grievances regarding these Terms may be directed to our designated support desk: