Terms and conditions

This Online Services Agreement (the “Agreement”) is a legally binding contract between you and SSBA Innovations Ltd (referred to as SSBA Innovations).

This Agreement regulates your utilization of any of the following:

The TaxBuddy Income Tax Return Filing Service
Tax Buddy Tax Planner
Tax Query Application and Scrutiny Application
Any other related TaxBuddy tax program service or another service you select, pay for, or employ in conjunction with TaxBuddy tax preparation products and services or other associated services provided by TaxBuddy.

By indicating your acceptance of this agreement or by accessing, duplicating, or otherwise employing any component of the products and services, you agree to abide by the terms and conditions outlined in this agreement. Should you not concur with the stipulations of this agreement, kindly refrain from accessing, downloading, or using any part of the products and services.

1. License and Permitted Use

Subject to the conditions and provisions delineated in this Agreement, along with the payment of all relevant fees, SSBA Innovations extends to you a restricted, non-exclusive, individual, non-transferable privilege for utilizing and entering the Products and Services to prepare and electronically submit ("e-file") your tax return(s) (the "License"). Please be aware that utilizing the Products and Services for e-filing tax returns, submitting your Form 16 or 16(A), and preparing, providing information, and submitting income tax returns may necessitate an additional fee.

This License allows entry and utilization of the Products and Services solely in accordance with the terms laid out in this Agreement and in compliance with the category of Products and Services for which you have paid all applicable fees. You are exclusively permitted to employ the Products and Services via SSBA Innovations' online computer service, available at https://www.taxbuddy.com/ or any endorsed third-party website, as designated by SSBA Innovations. The terms and conditions for using SSBA Innovations' website shall be simultaneously applicable for accessing and using the said website, and in cases of conflicting or inconsistent terms between the two, this Agreement's terms and conditions shall take precedence concerning the subject matter discussed herein.

The Products and Services may not be used for offering tax guidance or any other services to third parties. It is understood that, before filing your tax returns, you assume complete responsibility and liability for the comprehensive review of all your Form(s) 16 or 16(A) or any other data impacting your tax situation, ensuring accuracy and completeness. You are also responsible for verifying any outcomes derived from the utilization of the Products and Services.

In the event you intend to employ and access the Products and Services on behalf of other parties, you shall do so with proper authorization to file tax returns for those parties.

2. Eligibility to Use the Platform:

You are eligible to use the platform if:

You are 18 years of age or older. If you are acting as a guardian on behalf of a minor, you have the necessary authority to register/sign up on the platform for availing the services on behalf of the minor and transact on their behalf.
You are of legal age to form a binding contract, are not a person barred from receiving platform services under applicable laws, and are competent to enter into a binding contract. The company reserves the right to refuse access to the platform to new users if scalability problems arise. Users who have been suspended or removed by the company for any reason shall not be entitled to avail the platform services.
You agree to abide by the Terms of Use, offer documents, investor application form, mutual fund account opening form, investment account opening form, Risk Disclosure documents, and any other information provided by you on and through the platform for availing the platform services.

You also confirm that the money you invest is from your own bank account (the primary holder’s bank account in case of an Investment Account held jointly), and the same is earned from legitimate means/sources and remitted through approved banking channels.

3. Geographical Locations:

Please be aware that not all platform services are available in all geographical areas. Depending on your location, you may not be eligible to avail certain platform services offered by the Company or TaxBuddy, as the case may be. The Company and/or TaxBuddy reserve the absolute right to determine the availability and eligibility for any of the platform services offered on the platform.

4. Restrictions:

You are prohibited from engaging in the following actions, directly or indirectly:

Redistributing, selling, renting, loaning, or otherwise transferring the Products and Services or any rights in or to the Products and Services to any other person or entity.
Using the Products and Services in any manner other than its intended purpose or for the benefit of any third parties. This includes making the Products and Services available on an application service provider, outsourcing, or service bureau basis, or on any peer-to-peer or file-sharing service or network. Additionally, you must not use the Products and Services to perform services for third parties where the Products and Services enable, facilitate, or form a part of such services. If you do so, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless SSBA Innovations and its Affiliates against any losses, liabilities, claims, settlements, costs, or expenses, including reasonable lawyers’ fees and enforcement costs, arising from or related to such use or access.
Duplicating the Products and Services through any means, including electronically.
Removing any proprietary notice, labels, or marks on or in the Products and Services.
Attempting to derive or derive any source code for the Products and Services.
Disabling or circumventing any access control or related device, process, or procedure established with respect to the Products and Services.

You are responsible for all use of the Products and Services and for compliance with this Agreement. Any breach by you or any user of the Products and Services provided to you shall be your responsibility. SSBA Innovations reserves all rights not expressly granted to you.

5. Intellectual Property Rights:

SSBA Innovations, its Affiliates, or its licensors, as applicable, are the rightful owners of the Products and Services, which are protected under Intellectual Property Laws in India, including trademark and copyright law, and international treaty provisions. The title to the Products and Services and all associated intellectual property rights is owned and shall be exclusively retained by SSBA Innovations, its Affiliates, and licensors, as applicable.

Your use of the Products and Services does not confer upon you any ownership interest in the Products and Services or any derivative work or component thereof. This Agreement does not grant you any right, title, or interest in or to any trademark, service mark, logo, or trade name of SSBA Innovations, its Affiliates, or their licensors. You are not allowed to decompile, disassemble, modify, or reverse engineer the Products and Services, seek to derive the source code from any executable object code provided to you, or modify, translate, or create derivative works based on the Products and Services or any part thereof.

SSBA Innovations and its Affiliates hold the exclusive copyright for the Products and Services, and SSBA Innovations reserves all rights related to this ownership. This includes the exclusive right to create derivative works of the Products and Services and to duplicate, distribute, license, and sell the Products and Services.

You acknowledge and agree that the Products and Services, any enhancements, corrections, upgrades, or modifications to the Products and Services (regardless of the entity making these changes), and all copyrights, patents, trade secrets, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights associated with any aspect of the Products and Services are and shall remain the exclusive property of SSBA Innovations, its Affiliates, or its licensors, as applicable.

Privacy:

Your use of the Products and Services is subject to SSBA Innovations' privacy notice, which you can review in full at Privacy Notice. SSBA Innovations reserves the right to change the Privacy Notice and the policies described in it, consistent with applicable law. If SSBA Innovations makes a material change to the Privacy Notice, it will notify you using one of the following methods:

SSBA Innovations will post a notice on their website describing the change.
SSBA Innovations will send you an email notification of the change.

When you use the Products and Services, you may be required or requested to supply certain information to prepare your tax return ("Tax Information") and other personal information. If you use the automatic importing of tax information feature in connection with the Products and Services to import selected Tax Information from financial institutions or financial software, you are responsible for verifying the accuracy of the imported Tax Information.

SSBA Innovations will collect and transmit your Tax Information to the Income Tax Department in the required electronic format if you e-file your tax return. SSBA Innovations will retain an electronic copy of your Tax Information and other collected personal information, including e-filing details and status, as required or permitted by law.

Non-availability of Electronic Filing:

You understand and agree that e-filing may not be available in some circumstances. SSBA Innovations does not guarantee the performance of the Internet or any third-party system or that the Income Tax Department (ITD) will receive, accept, or process your tax return. SSBA Innovations' sole responsibility is to use reasonable efforts to transmit your tax returns electronically to the ITD if you select and qualify for e-filing and pay all applicable fees.

Online Assisted Service:

SSBA Innovations may offer supplemental tax return preparation services in connection with your use of SSBA Innovations' Online Assisted Service. SSBA Innovations will provide tax advice, prepare your tax return, and e-file your tax return with the ITD as directed by you.

Automatic Importing of Tax Information:

The Products and Services may include functionality that allows you to electronically import certain Tax Information directly into the Software. SSBA Innovations does not guarantee the availability or accuracy of such automatic importing.

Accurate Calculations Guarantee:

Subject to certain conditions, SSBA Innovations agrees to reimburse you for the amount of penalty and interest paid by you in connection with your FY 2017-18 tax return up to the maximum amount of fees paid to SSBA Innovations. This is provided that the penalty and interest were incurred solely as a result of:

An arithmetic error made by the Software.
Incorrect advice provided to you in connection with the Online Assisted Service.

Qualifications for Reimbursement:

In order to qualify for reimbursement under this Section, you must meet the following conditions:

The penalty and interest are for your FY 2017-18 tax return.
The penalty or interest did not result from any incorrect entry of data by you or any third party or data incorrectly imported into the Software, your failure to follow Software instructions, your failure to correct and resolve errors identified by the Software, a claim for an improper or unsupportable deduction, a failure to report income, your failure to provide all necessary information to SSBA Innovations, an incorrect interpretation of the law by you or any other reason outside the control of SSBA Innovations.
You notified SSBA Innovations as soon as you learned of the error and no later than thirty (30) days after the penalty or interest was assessed or you received a notice from the ITD regarding your tax return, whichever is earlier. You must also send SSBA Innovations complete documentation of the penalty and interest, including all correspondence with the ITD, a copy of your tax returns as filed with the ITD, proof of payment of the penalty and interest, and any other relevant information requested by SSBA Innovations.
You took any action reasonably requested by SSBA Innovations, including filing an amended tax return if necessary, to limit any further penalties and interest from accruing.
The penalty and interest were for a return filed on or before July 31, 2018, or any later filing deadline extension published by the ITD.
You have complied with all terms and conditions of this Agreement, including the license restrictions, and you have not intentionally provided any false information in connection with your account registration or tax return.
You paid the applicable fees, if any, to SSBA Innovations for the license of the Software and any applicable Products and Services at the time of filing your tax return.
The penalty or interest is not based on incorrect advice you received from SSBA Innovations that you knew was incorrect at the time you filed your return.
Your tax return was prepared using the FY 2017-18 tax year version of the Software in accordance with this Agreement and the operating instructions.

This section defines SSBA Innovations' entire obligation and liability, and it is your sole and exclusive remedy for any errors in your return caused by the products and services or SSBA Innovations. Monetary remedies under this section are not available if you request a refund for any Software pursuant to Section 7 of this Agreement. The rights and benefits provided in this section are personal and may not be assigned or transferred to any other party.

Disclaimer of Warranties:

Except for the express warranties provided in this agreement, SSBA Innovations makes no other warranties, express or implied, regarding the Products and Services. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, implied warranties, including non-infringement, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose, are excluded from your license and use of the Products and Services.

SSBA Innovations does not warrant or promise that the Products and Services will identify the appropriate documents for your needs or that they are free from bugs or errors. SSBA Innovations does not make any other promises regarding the performance, accuracy, or reliability of the Products and Services or their ability to meet your requirements. The Products and Services are provided as general tools to assist you in preparing and filing your tax returns, and they do not replace your obligation to exercise your independent judgment. You are solely responsible for inputting your information correctly and verifying the outputs from your use of the Products and Services. SSBA Innovations and its affiliates and franchisees do not warrant any particular results you may obtain from using the Products and Services.

You acknowledge that SSBA Innovations and its respective licensors do not practice law and do not provide legal or other professional services to you. You agree that your use of the Products and Services is not a substitute for the advice of a legal or other competent professional. You acknowledge that laws vary and change over time, and that final documents, forms, and letters should be reviewed by a legal or other competent professional before use.

Consent to Electronic Communications:

This consent to electronic communications is essential in compliance with the Information Technology Act 2000 and signifies your agreement to receive all Required Disclosures electronically, relating to your use of the Products and Services. "Required Disclosures" refer to all notices, disclosures, communications, or other information mandated by law concerning your use of the Products and Services.

Scope of Consent:

Your consent for electronic receipt of Required Disclosures pertains to all Required Disclosures concerning your use of the Products and Services and your relationship with SSBA Innovations.

Consent:

You agree and consent to the electronic delivery of Required Disclosures. Furthermore, you agree that SSBA Innovations is not obligated to provide you with an additional paper (non-electronic) copy of the Required Disclosures unless specifically requested, as described above. By selecting the email/SMS alert service, you grant SSBA Innovations a non-exclusive, irrevocable right and permission to send emails, SMS, and alerts as determined by SSBA Innovations.

Payments:

As a merchant, we shall not be held liable for any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly from the decline of authorization for any transaction due to the Cardholder exceeding the pre-set limit mutually agreed upon by us and our acquiring bank from time to time.

Refund Policy:

The Refund & Cancellation policy for all payments made toward account opening or any other services or products using any mode of payment is as follows:

The fees paid for account opening charges for enabling mutual funds, wealth builder services, tax planning service (Financial planning on TaxBuddy.com), or any other services are non-refundable and non-reimbursable.
The pick-up of required documents, forms, papers, or deeds related to the account opening procedure and process is subject to the availability of our representatives at any particular time and location.
If your account has not been opened by Team TaxBuddy after the tenth day from the day of collecting all necessary supporting documents and receiving all due authorizations from you, you may request a full refund of the charges you paid for account activation/opening.
In the event that you have paid the charges for account opening multiple times, please contact support, and we will initiate the necessary procedure to refund your money.

Note: The completion and execution of the refund procedure and process are subject to the policies and procedures of agencies such as banks and payment gateways.

Security:

You agree to take reasonable security precautions to protect any passwords and user IDs associated with your use of the Products and Services. These precautions should be at least as great as the precautions you take to protect your own computer equipment, software, and online financial accounts. In no event should these precautions be less than reasonable and prudent care.
You will notify SSBA Innovations immediately of any unauthorized use of your user ID/name, your password, or the Products and Services, or any other security breach of which you are aware.
It is your sole responsibility to keep your account number, ID/user name, password, and other sensitive information confidential. You understand and agree that you are solely responsible for all computer password, data, file, and network security, including but not limited to an active firewall on your computer or network connection, anti-virus software, and anti-spyware software necessary to secure and protect any proprietary or confidential information that you provide, store, submit, transmit, or disclose directly or indirectly with your use of the Products and Services.

Posts:

The Company and/or TaxBuddy may provide and display content on the Platform that features specific articles/write-ups by third parties related to mutual funds and stocks. You hereby agree and acknowledge that such content displayed on the Platform does not represent the views and recommendations of the Company and/or TaxBuddy, and you are required to read the documents carefully before investing in any mutual funds and/or stocks.
You may also be allowed to post and comment on such content on the Platform, and you hereby undertake to ensure that such comments shall not be offensive and will be in accordance with applicable laws.
All material added, created, submitted, or posted to the Platform by you is your sole responsibility. The Company and/or TaxBuddy reserves the right to review any information provided/data uploaded by you on the Platform and delete any information/data that is inconsistent with these Terms of Use.

Dispute Resolution:

The parties agree that the exclusive jurisdiction of any dispute arising out of or relating to this Agreement, or any dispute arising out of or relating to the Products and Services provided in connection therewith, shall belong to the courts located in Mumbai, India.
In the event of any dispute arising after the provision of the ITR filing service, TaxBuddy's liability for compensation shall be strictly limited to the amount paid for the said service.

Indemnification:

You agree to defend and hold harmless SSBA Innovations and its respective current and former successors, assigns, officers, directors, representatives, employees, and agents from and against any and all claims, suits, settlements, losses, liabilities, penalties, damages (including incidental and consequential damages), costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses) resulting from or arising out of your breach of this Agreement.

Termination:

Without prejudice to any other rights, SSBA Innovations may immediately terminate this Agreement if you do not abide by its terms and conditions, in which case you must immediately cease use and access to the Products and Services and destroy all copies of the Products and Services and certify in writing to SSBA Innovations your compliance with this Section.

Calling, SMS & WhatsApp Policy:

You agree and consent to the electronic delivery of Required Disclosures. You also agree that SSBA Innovations does not need to provide a (non-electronic) copy of the Required Disclosures unless specifically requested as described above. On the selection of call/emails/sms/WhatsApp alert service, You agree & grant non-exclusive, permission & irrevocable right to give a call whether these numbers are registered with National Do Not Call Registry/ Listed in National Customer Preference Register or not and to send emails, SMS, WhatsApp messages & alerts as decided by SSBA Innovations. You also confirm that by sending any of such messages/calls, you will not hold SSBA Innovations or its third-party service provider liable or institute a complaint under the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference (TRAI) Regulations, 2010, or such other applicable regulations, including any amendment thereof, as may be applicable from time to time.