Refund & Cancellation Policy

This Refund & Cancellation Policy explains how cancellation and refund requests are handled for paid participation in the OutloopAI National AI Challenge. It is intended to be read together with the OutloopAI Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Disclaimer and National AI Challenge Rules & Scoring.

This Policy applies to paid entry fees for participation in the National AI Challenge and to payment transactions made through the official OutloopAI registration and payment flow. It does not apply to the Free AI Capability Assessment, which does not carry a participation fee.

The participation fee is the amount displayed on the official payment page at the time the participant registers. For an illustrative launch price of ₹399, the exact amount payable, including applicable taxes or mandatory charges, will be displayed before payment.

A participant is responsible for reviewing the fee, event details, eligibility requirements, applicable rules and this Policy before completing payment.

A paid competition entry is a digital participation service. Once the competition attempt has started, the reserved entry and associated service are treated as committed and the participation fee is generally non-refundable, subject to the exceptions and statutory rights described in this Policy.

A participant may request cancellation within 24 hours after successful payment, provided the paid competition attempt has not started. Where both conditions are satisfied, OutloopAI will issue a full refund of the amount paid for the entry to the original payment method, subject to the transaction being successfully verified.

The 24-hour window begins from the time the payment is confirmed by the payment provider. A request received after that period, or a request made after the participant has started the paid competition attempt, will normally not qualify for a voluntary cancellation refund.

Except where applicable law requires otherwise, the following situations do not normally qualify for a refund after successful registration or after the applicable cancellation window:

The participant changes their mind after the cancellation window has expired.

The participant does not attend or does not start the competition.

The participant starts the competition and later abandons or withdraws.

The participant is dissatisfied with the assessment, competition result, score, ranking or outcome.

The participant provides incorrect or incomplete registration information and the error affects participation.

The participant is disqualified for cheating, fraud, collusion, impersonation, manipulation of results or another breach of the competition rules.

The participant experiences a problem with their own device, internet connection, power supply, browser, software environment or other equipment that is not caused by an OutloopAI platform failure.

If the same participant is charged more than once for the same entry because of a duplicate transaction, the duplicate amount will be refunded after the transaction records are verified.

Where payment is successfully deducted but the corresponding competition registration is not created because of a payment or platform processing failure, the participant should contact support with the transaction reference. OutloopAI will verify the transaction and will either complete the entry or process the appropriate refund.

If a material failure of the OutloopAI platform prevents a participant from accessing or completing the paid competition service, OutloopAI may provide a replacement attempt, equivalent alternative participation, or a refund, depending on the circumstances and what is reasonably practicable.

Minor interruptions that do not materially prevent participation may be addressed through technical support or reasonable recovery measures rather than an automatic refund.

If OutloopAI cancels the competition, registered participants will be informed of the available remedy. Depending on the circumstances, this may include a full refund, a replacement entry of equivalent value, or another remedy permitted by the applicable Terms and Rules.

Where a competition is postponed or materially changed, OutloopAI will communicate the revised arrangements and any applicable participant remedy.

A refund is not ordinarily due where a participant is disqualified because of a breach of the National AI Challenge Rules & Scoring, including cheating, unauthorised assistance, identity misuse, collusion, plagiarism, deliberate system manipulation or other prohibited conduct.

Nothing in this section is intended to remove a legal right that cannot lawfully be excluded.

A refund request should be submitted through the official OutloopAI support or grievance channel published on the website. The request should contain the participant's registered name, registered email or mobile number, registration or participant ID where available, payment transaction/reference ID, date of payment, and a concise explanation of the request.

OutloopAI may ask for reasonable evidence, such as a payment confirmation or screenshot, when necessary to verify a duplicate payment, transaction failure or technical incident.

Refund requests are reviewed against the transaction record, registration status, attempt status, competition event logs where relevant, and the conditions of this Policy. A refund decision does not depend solely on an automated flag; where an integrity or technical issue materially affects eligibility for a refund, the relevant evidence may be reviewed by an authorised team member.

Approved refunds will normally be initiated to the original payment method used for the transaction. OutloopAI will process the refund within the operational timeframe stated in the participant communication or as required by applicable law. The final crediting time may depend on the bank, card issuer, UPI provider or payment gateway.

The payment page will show the applicable price and mandatory taxes or charges before payment. Where a refund is due, OutloopAI will follow the treatment required by applicable law and the actual transaction structure. No consumer refund will be reduced by a third-party processing charge unless such reduction is legally permitted and clearly disclosed.

This Policy does not exclude or limit any consumer, payment, statutory or other legal right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited. Where applicable law provides a participant with a greater entitlement than this Policy, the law will prevail.

Participants should contact OutloopAI support for ordinary billing or refund issues so that the transaction can be reviewed promptly. This does not prevent a participant from using any lawful payment-provider dispute, chargeback or consumer-remedy process that may apply.

A paid competition entry is personal to the registered participant unless the applicable competition rules expressly allow a transfer. A cancellation request should not be assumed to create a transferable credit or entry.

OutloopAI may update this Policy from time to time. The version applicable to a transaction will be the version presented or incorporated at the relevant point of purchase, subject to any later legal requirement. A subsequent policy change will not retrospectively remove a refund right that has already accrued unless required by law.

Refund, cancellation and payment concerns should be directed to the published OutloopAI support and grievance contact. Before publication, insert the final legal entity name, registered office address, support email, grievance officer name/designation where required, and any other mandatory contact details.

Before payment, the checkout should visibly identify the participation fee, applicable taxes or mandatory charges, the Refund & Cancellation Policy, Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and National AI Challenge Rules & Scoring. The participant should be able to access each document before completing payment and should affirm the required terms/acceptance where the live legal design requires it.

This document is website-ready policy content but should not be treated as final legal clearance. The final version must be reviewed against the actual competition mechanics, payment flow, service commencement point, prize or reward structure, jurisdiction, consumer-law treatment and the live privacy/data-processing setup.