Terms & Conditions

1. Nature of Platform & Intermediary Status

Mess Wala operates as a digital technology platform and logistics aggregator connecting consumers (students and working professionals) with independent, verified cloud kitchens, mess operators, and tiffin providers ("Kitchen Partners").

Under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and applicable E-Commerce rules, Mess Wala acts as an intermediary providing software infrastructure, order routing, payment settlement, and clustered batch dispatch services.

2. Subscriptions, Payments & Billing

• Prepaid Plans: All daily meal subscriptions are prepaid. Service commences only upon successful payment verification via authorized payment gateways (e.g., PhonePe) or authorized Cash on Delivery (COD) registration.
• 34-Day Cycle Structure: Standard monthly meal packages are structured over a 34-calendar-day validity cycle (30 standard delivery days + 4 included grace rollover days).
• Taxes & Pricing: Prices displayed on the platform are inclusive of all applicable statutory taxes. We reserve the right to revise subscription rates with prior notification before renewal.

3. 34-Day Smart Pause Guarantee & Cut-Off Deadlines

To eliminate food waste and protect student budgets, Mess Wala provides a built-in Smart Pause Guarantee:

• Lunch Pause Cut-off: Absences for lunch must be marked in the web app before 08:59 AM on the delivery day.
• Dinner Pause Cut-off: Absences for dinner must be marked before 05:59 PM on the delivery day.
• Rollover Rule: Pausing before the cut-off automatically adds +1 day of validity to your meal wallet. Requests made after the cut-off cannot be honored as kitchen prep and raw material allocation lock automatically.
• Sunday Schedule: Sunday evening deliveries are officially closed for weekly deep cleaning across all partner kitchens. Sunday lunch runs on standard schedule.

4. Food Quality, Hygiene & Kitchen Compliance

• All onboarded Kitchen Partners are required to hold valid FSSAI registrations/licenses and comply with sanitary cooking practices, including mandatory RO/filtered water usage.
• Mess Wala conducts periodic mystery tastings and sanitary audits of all partner kitchens.
• Allergy & Dietary Information: Ingredients used are standard homestyle Indian recipes. If you have severe allergies (nuts, gluten, lactose), please review the daily menu carefully before subscribing.

5. Clustered Batch Delivery & Campus Drop Protocol

• Deliveries are carried out in synchronized batch routes to designated hostel gate drop-pods, PG receptions, and campus points.
• Delivery Windows: Lunch (12:15 PM – 01:30 PM) | Dinner (07:15 PM – 08:30 PM).
• Student Pickup: Students are responsible for collecting their insulated thalis promptly upon rider arrival. Uncollected thalis after the 15-minute batch window cannot be redelivered.

6. User Account & Conduct

• Users are responsible for providing authentic 10-digit mobile numbers and correct hostel/room locations.
• Any abusive behavior towards delivery runners or kitchen staff will result in immediate subscription termination without refund.
• Commercial redistribution or offline reselling of Mess Wala thalis without written franchise consent is strictly prohibited.

7. Limitation of Liability & Force Majeure

To the maximum extent permitted by Indian law, Mess Wala's total liability for any claim arising out of your subscription shall not exceed the amount paid by you for the specific affected meal.

We are not liable for delivery failures resulting from Force Majeure events, including natural disasters, extreme rain floods, student union lockdowns, municipal curfews, or internet/UPI gateway outages.

8. Governing Law & Legal Jurisdiction

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of India. Any legal dispute, claim, or proceeding arising under these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts in Sangamner / Ahmednagar District, Maharashtra.