Loading…
Loading…
Last updated: 18 July 2026 · Version 3.0 · Governing law: India / Delhi jurisdiction
Please read these Terms carefully before using OnlineTaxGuru. By using our Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms.
By accessing or using the OnlineTaxGuru website (https://onlinetaxguru.com) or any of our services — whether as a registered user or a guest — you unconditionally accept these Terms of Service ("Terms") and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with any part of these Terms, you must not use our platform or Services. These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("Client", "you") and OnlineTaxGuru ("Company", "we", "us", "our"). We may update these Terms from time to time as described in "Amendments" below; continued use of our Services after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.
"Services" means the tax, GST, corporate, and compliance services described in "Description of Services" below and on our website. "Portal" means the OnlineTaxGuru website and any client dashboard we provide. "CA" means a Chartered Accountant, Company Secretary, or other qualified professional engaged by or associated with OnlineTaxGuru to render a Service. "Government Portal" means any website or system operated by a government department or regulator referenced in these Terms. "Engagement" means the specific Service (or set of Services) you have purchased and that a CA has been assigned to deliver.
OnlineTaxGuru provides CA-assisted, technology-enabled tax and compliance services, including but not limited to:
This list is illustrative and not exhaustive — we may add, modify, or discontinue Services at our discretion. All Services are rendered by or under the supervision of ICAI-registered Chartered Accountants or other appropriately qualified professionals. We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice beyond the scope of chartered accountancy practice as defined by ICAI, except where a specific Service (e.g., trademark filing) is expressly described as including such assistance.
A professional engagement ("Engagement") begins only when you have made payment for a specific Service and a CA has been assigned to your case — browsing our website or requesting a free consultation does not by itself create an Engagement (see also our Disclaimer).
The scope of each Engagement is defined by the description on the relevant service page and/or any engagement communication (email, Portal confirmation, or scope note) sent to you at the time of purchase. Our responsibility is limited strictly to that stated scope. Work that falls outside the stated scope — for example, responding to a fresh government notice unrelated to the filing you engaged us for, or a service in a different category — is not automatically included and may be undertaken only as a separate, additionally-priced Engagement.
Where a Service requires information or a decision that depends on facts only you can confirm (for example, choice of tax regime, business structure, or classification of an expense), we will advise you of the available options and their implications, but the final decision and its consequences are yours to make.
As a user of our Services, you agree to:
Before we submit a return, application, or filing to a Government Portal on your behalf, we will share the draft (or a summary of its key figures/details) with you for review, typically through the Portal, email, or WhatsApp. You are responsible for reviewing the draft carefully and flagging any error, omission, or discrepancy before giving your approval to file.
Unless you notify us of a specific error within the review window stated in our communication to you (or, where no window is stated, within a reasonable time and in any event before the filing deadline), your approval — including a clear "go ahead" instruction over email, WhatsApp, SMS, or the Portal — will be treated as your confirmation that the draft is accurate to the best of your knowledge, and we will proceed to file it. Once filed, corrections may require a separate revised filing (e.g., a revised return), which may attract additional professional fees and, in some cases, additional government fees or penalties for which we are not responsible where the underlying error originated from information you approved.
Depending on the Service, we may be required or may choose, as a matter of good practice, to verify your identity before onboarding you or filing on your behalf — for example, by asking for your PAN, Aadhaar (last 4 digits, or full number where a specific filing legally requires it), a selfie/photo ID match, or other documents described on the relevant service page (see also Privacy Policy §1.1 "Personal Information"). This is consistent with applicable know-your-customer expectations under Indian law and with safeguards against the misuse of our platform for fraud or money laundering (see "Anti-Fraud & Misrepresentation" below).
If you decline to provide the KYC information reasonably requested for a specific Service, we may be unable to proceed with that Service, and any professional fee already paid will be handled under our Refund & Cancellation Policy.
All fees are displayed on our website in Indian Rupees (INR). Government fees, filing fees, stamp duty, DSC charges, courier charges and other third-party charges — plus applicable GST (currently 18%) — are additional to our professional fee unless a specific service page expressly states an all-inclusive price. Payment must generally be made in full before your case is assigned to a CA, unless a specific service page or invoice states a milestone-based payment schedule. We accept payment via credit/debit cards, UPI, net banking, and EMI (where available), processed securely through Razorpay (see "Third-Party Services" below). Every payment is accompanied by a GST-compliant tax invoice. If a government fee changes after you have paid, we will notify you and seek your approval before incurring the revised amount on your behalf. Fees already paid are governed by our Refund & Cancellation Policy.
Where a Service is offered on a milestone or instalment basis and you fail to pay an instalment (including a bounced payment, expired card, or failed EMI) by its due date, we may suspend further work on your case until the outstanding amount is paid. We will notify you before suspending work wherever practicable. Suspension does not itself cancel your Engagement — a cancellation is handled under our Refund & Cancellation Policy.
We do not withhold documents we have already filed on your behalf with a government authority on account of a payment default — those remain yours, as they are also on the public/government record. We may, however, withhold delivery of ancillary deliverables we have separately prepared for you (such as a compiled report or a physical certificate awaiting despatch) until the outstanding amount is cleared. We may charge reasonable interest on overdue amounts and recover reasonable collection costs, in each case to the extent permitted by applicable law.
Upon successful payment, a CA is typically assigned to your case within 30 minutes during business hours (Monday–Saturday, 9 AM–8 PM IST). The assigned CA is your primary point of contact for that engagement. Service timelines stated on our website are indicative estimates, not guarantees — actual timelines depend on document completeness, your responsiveness, and Government Portal processing times, as explained under "Role of Government Authorities" below. We will proactively communicate any known delay and its cause.
We retain the documents you upload, the filings we prepare, and your case records for 8 years from the date the relevant Service is completed, consistent with retention expectations under the Income Tax Act, 1961 and the Companies Act, 2013 — see Privacy Policy §3 "Data Storage & Security" for the full policy on formats, access controls, and secure disposal. Communication records described under "Communication Records" below are retained for the same period.
You may request a copy of any document we hold on your behalf at any time during the retention period by writing to support@onlinetaxguru.com; we will provide it within a reasonable time, generally within 15 business days. If you request deletion of your account under Privacy Policy §6 "Your Rights," documents subject to a statutory retention requirement will continue to be retained for the remainder of that period even after account deletion, and only your non-mandatory personal data will be deleted.
Our Services rely on certain third-party systems that are not owned or operated by us, including government portals (Income Tax e-filing portal, GST portal, MCA/ROC portal, Trade Marks Registry portal, DGFT portal, FSSAI FoSCoS, and similar), payment gateways (currently Razorpay), cloud infrastructure providers (currently AWS, Mumbai region), courier/logistics providers used to dispatch physical documents or certificates, and communication providers (email/SMS/WhatsApp gateways).
We select these providers with reasonable care, but we do not own, control, or guarantee the availability, accuracy, or performance of third-party systems. Where a delay, error, or service interruption is caused by a third-party system outside our reasonable control — including government portal downtime or courier delay — we will inform you promptly and take reasonable steps to follow up on your behalf, but we are not liable for losses directly caused by that third party's failure.
By using our website or Services, you consent to receive communications from us electronically — via email, WhatsApp, SMS, phone calls, and notifications within your OnlineTaxGuru client Portal — including service updates, document requests, invoices, receipts, and policy notices. You agree that all such electronic communications satisfy any legal requirement that such communication be in writing.
Instructions, approvals, and document submissions you send us through any of these channels (email, WhatsApp, SMS, or the Portal) form part of the official record of your engagement with us, and we may rely on them as evidence of your instruction or approval, including in the event of a dispute. We retain these communication records for the same period as your case file — see "Document Retention Policy" below.
It is your responsibility to keep your registered email address, mobile number, and WhatsApp number current. We are not responsible for your failure to receive a communication sent to contact details you provided that are outdated or incorrect.
We treat all personal, financial, and business information you share with us as confidential, and access is restricted to your assigned Chartered Accountant and authorised staff working on your case, consistent with our Privacy Policy and the confidentiality obligations applicable to Chartered Accountants under the ICAI Code of Ethics.
We will not disclose your confidential information to any third party except: (a) where necessary to render the Service you have engaged (e.g., submission to a government portal); (b) with your explicit consent; (c) where required by a court order, statute, or a lawful demand from a government or regulatory authority; or (d) to our sub-processors and service providers bound by confidentiality obligations (e.g., cloud hosting, payment processing).
You agree to keep confidential any non-public information about our internal processes, pricing structures, or proprietary tools that you become aware of through your use of the Services.
All content on the OnlineTaxGuru platform — including text, graphics, logos, templates, guides, calculators, and software — is the intellectual property of OnlineTaxGuru or its licensors and is protected under Indian copyright and intellectual property law. You may not reproduce, resell, or distribute our platform content, templates, or proprietary processes without our prior written permission.
Documents and filings we prepare specifically for your case (e.g., your ITR, your GST return, your incorporation documents, your trademark application) belong to you upon full payment for the applicable Service. This does not extend to the underlying templates, checklists, or drafting tools we used to prepare them, which remain our intellectual property and may be reused for other clients.
With your prior consent, we may reference your name, business name, or an anonymised version of your experience (e.g., in a testimonial or case study) for marketing purposes. You may withdraw this consent at any time by writing to support@onlinetaxguru.com, and we will remove the reference within a reasonable time. Nothing in this section grants you any licence to our brand, logo, or trademarks.
Submitting forged, altered, or fraudulent documents, impersonating another person, or knowingly providing false information to us or to a Government Portal through our platform (see "Client Responsibilities" above) is a serious breach of these Terms and, depending on the facts, may constitute an offence under Indian law, including under the Indian Penal Code/Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, and tax/company law penal provisions.
Where we reasonably suspect fraud or material misrepresentation, we may immediately suspend or terminate the Engagement without a refund of fees for work already performed, decline to file the affected document, and report the matter to the relevant government authority, law enforcement, or regulator, in addition to our rights under "Indemnity" below. We may also be legally required to file a report with the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) or another authority where applicable law so requires.
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, OnlineTaxGuru's total aggregate liability to you arising out of or in connection with a specific Service — whether in contract, tort (including negligence), or otherwise — shall not exceed the professional fee actually paid by you for that specific Service.
We shall not be liable for: (a) any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential loss, including loss of profit, revenue, business opportunity, or goodwill; (b) interest, late fees, or penalties levied by a government authority as a result of information, documents, or approvals you provided that were inaccurate, incomplete, or delayed; (c) the outcome, quantum, or timing of any government decision, assessment, or refund, which rests with the relevant department as set out under "Role of Government Authorities" above; (d) delays or failures caused by a third-party system, portal, or service provider outside our reasonable control; or (e) any Force Majeure Event.
Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes our liability for gross negligence, wilful misconduct, or fraud by us or by a Chartered Accountant engaged through our platform, or any liability that cannot be lawfully limited or excluded under Indian law.
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless OnlineTaxGuru, its directors, employees, and engaged Chartered Accountants from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, penalties, and reasonable legal expenses arising out of or connected with: (a) any inaccurate, incomplete, false, or fraudulent information or document you provide to us; (b) your breach of these Terms or applicable law; (c) your violation of any third-party right, including intellectual property or confidentiality rights; or (d) any claim brought by a third party arising from your use of the Services or the outcome of a filing made on the basis of information you supplied.
This indemnity does not extend to claims arising from our own gross negligence or wilful misconduct, or from a Chartered Accountant's failure to exercise reasonable professional skill and care in performing the engaged Service.
OnlineTaxGuru is an independent private consultancy and is not a government website. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or acting on behalf of any government department, ministry, or regulator, and no page on this website is an official government portal. OnlineTaxGuru facilitates and assists with filings, registrations, and compliance submissions to government departments and regulators, including but not limited to the Income Tax Department, the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA)/Registrar of Companies (ROC), the Trade Marks Registry, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for Importer Exporter Code (IEC), the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Ministry of MSME, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).
All decisions, notices, assessments, scrutiny, refunds, approvals, rejections, processing timelines, and penalties in respect of any filing or application remain solely within the authority, discretion, and timelines of the relevant government department or regulator. We do not control, influence, or guarantee the outcome, timing, or amount of any government decision, refund, or penalty. Our role is limited to preparing and submitting accurate filings on your behalf based on the information and documents you provide, and to representing your case professionally and diligently within the scope of the engaged Service.
The accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of any filing, and consequently any outcome dependent on it, are directly dependent on the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of the information and documents you provide to us. Delays or adverse outcomes caused by incomplete, incorrect, or late information or documents supplied by you are not attributable to us.
Neither party shall be liable for any failure or delay in performing its obligations under these Terms where such failure or delay results from circumstances beyond that party's reasonable control, including but not limited to acts of God, natural disasters, fire, flood, pandemic or epidemic, war, riot, civil unrest, strikes, government-imposed lockdowns or curfews, changes in law, internet or telecommunications infrastructure failure, or extended downtime of a government portal ("Force Majeure Event").
The affected party shall notify the other party as soon as reasonably practicable and shall resume performance of its obligations as soon as reasonably possible once the Force Majeure Event has ceased. If a Force Majeure Event prevents performance for more than 45 consecutive days, either party may terminate the affected Service with a pro-rata refund for work not yet performed, subject to our Refund & Cancellation Policy.
To the extent permitted by applicable Indian law, any claim you wish to bring against us arising out of or relating to a Service must be brought within one year of the date the Service was completed (or, for a Service never completed, within one year of the date you last paid for it) — whichever is earlier — failing which the claim shall be time-barred as between us, without prejudice to any statutory limitation period that cannot be contractually shortened. This clause does not purport to override or reduce any limitation period fixed by the Limitation Act, 1963 or any other applicable statute where such a period may not lawfully be varied by agreement; it is intended to operate only to the extent Indian law permits parties to agree upon a contractual limitation period.
We may suspend or terminate your account and access to the Services, with notice where practicable, if you breach these Terms, provide fraudulent information, or engage in conduct that may harm our platform, other users, or our CAs. You may stop using your account at any time by contacting our support team. Termination does not relieve you of any obligation to pay for Services already rendered, and any refund of amounts paid for Services not yet rendered is governed by our Refund & Cancellation Policy. We will retain your data after termination as described in "Document Retention Policy" above and our Privacy Policy.
These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India. Subject to "Dispute Resolution" below, the courts at Delhi, India shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services. Professional standards applicable to Services rendered on our platform are additionally governed by the Income Tax Act, 1961, the Companies Act, 2013, the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, the Trade Marks Act, 1999, the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992, the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and applicable ICAI regulations, each as amended from time to time.
In the event of any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services, the parties will first attempt in good faith to resolve it through negotiation within 30 days of written notice. If unresolved, the dispute shall be referred to arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, before a sole arbitrator mutually agreed by the parties (or, failing agreement, appointed in accordance with that Act). The seat and venue of arbitration shall be Delhi, India, and the proceedings shall be conducted in English. The arbitrator's award shall be final and binding on the parties, subject to applicable law. Nothing in this clause prevents either party from seeking urgent interim or injunctive relief from a competent court at Delhi.
We may revise these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in our Services or in applicable law. Material changes will be notified via a notice on our website or by email at least 15 days before taking effect, except where an immediate change is required by law. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page indicates when these Terms were last revised.
For questions about these Terms, contact us at support@onlinetaxguru.com or write to OnlineTaxGuru, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. For service-related queries, use the in-platform chat or call +91-9910567785 during business hours.
Have questions about this policy?
Contact Us