Cancellation Policy

Last updated October 4, 2026

Overview & Principles

NearCart operates as a high-speed hyperlocal marketplace connecting customers with neighborhood stores. Because orders are processed, packed, and dispatched by local merchants within minutes of receipt, order cancellation rules are tied directly to real-time order lifecycle stages.
Our cancellation rules balance customer flexibility with fairness to local merchants who allocate inventory and pack fresh items, and delivery partners who travel to the physical store for pickup.

You may cancel your order depending on the current order status displayed on your live tracking timeline:
a) Order Placed / Pending Merchant Acceptance: 100% Free Cancellation. You can cancel immediately with a single tap in the app with no penalty or fee.
b) Order Accepted & Under Preparation: The local merchant has acknowledged your order and started picking and packing items. Cancellation may be requested through support. If fresh perishable goods (cut vegetables, meat, hot bakery) have already been packaged, a nominal cancellation fee up to the perishable value may be applied.
c) Order Dispatched / Rider En Route: The delivery partner has picked up your package and is navigating to your address. Cancellations at this stage are not permitted as the delivery partner has already expended fuel and time. If you refuse delivery at the door, the order will be recorded as a doorstep cancellation.
Perishable Packing Notice: Once a local store cuts, portions, or packs fresh produce, dairy, or bakery goods specifically for your order, those items cannot be restocked for other shoppers.

On rare occasions, an order may need to be cancelled by the participating Merchant or the Platform:
- Stock Exhaustion: If one or more key items in your order are out of stock at the merchant's physical store, and no suitable substitute is acceptable to you.
- Store Operational Issues: If the merchant experiences power failure, sudden store closure, or operational incapacity.
- Extreme Weather / Force Majeure: Severe waterlogging, floods, strikes, or curfew rendering delivery hazardous or legally prohibited.
- Unserviceable Destination: Delivery address found to be outside active operational range or inaccessible due to roadblocks.
In all cases of Merchant or Platform-initiated cancellation, 100% of any pre-collected funds are immediately refunded, and no cancellation fee is ever charged to the customer.

We provide Cash on Delivery (COD) as a convenience to foster trust. However, placing COD orders and arbitrarily refusing them at the doorstep damages small local businesses and wastes delivery partners' labor.
If a customer repeatedly refuses confirmed COD orders without valid justification (such as verified package damage or excessive unnotified delay), NearCart reserves the right to:
- Disable Cash on Delivery as a payment option for that account and phone number.
- Restrict future orders to pre-paid or verified methods only.
- Terminate platform access in severe cases of repeated bad-faith abuse.

If an eligible cancelled order had any advance payment or doorstep UPI payment collected:
- Refunds are processed back to the original payment source within 24 to 48 hours.
- For COD orders that were cancelled before delivery, no money has been collected, so no monetary refund is necessary.
- Any promotional voucher or coupon used on a cancelled order will be automatically re-credited to your account within 1 hour.

To cancel an active order
1. Navigate to the Order Detail page from the top navigation or /orders.
2. If the order is still in "Pending" status, tap the "Cancel Order" button.
3. Select the cancellation reason and confirm.
4. If the order has progressed to "Preparing", tap "Contact Support" to request immediate intervention.

Can I cancel my order after placing it?
Yes, you can cancel freely while the order is in 'Pending' status. Once the merchant accepts and begins preparing your items, cancellations must be handled through customer support.
Will I be charged a fee if the store cancels my order?
Never. If a merchant or NearCart cancels your order due to out-of-stock items or store closure, no fee is ever charged.
What happens to my coupon if I cancel my order?
Promotional discount coupons applied to an order cancelled before delivery are automatically restored to your account so you can use them again.

Questions about this policy? Contact support