1. Acceptance of these Terms

By accessing, browsing or using the Bay of Bapatla website, mobile experience or related services (together, the "Platform"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service, our Privacy Policy, Refund & Cancellation Policy, Delivery & Services Policy, Partner & Listing Policy and Disclaimer, each of which is incorporated by reference and forms a binding agreement between you and SIFA Geolabs (the "Operator", "we", "us", or "our").

• If you do not agree with any part of these Terms, please do not access or use the Platform.
• Your continued use of the Platform after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.
• These Terms are an electronic record generated by a computer system and do not require any physical signature, in accordance with the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the rules made thereunder.

2. Definitions

• "Platform" means the website and services operated by Bay of Bapatla connecting users with local tourism and business partners.
• "User" or "you" means any person who accesses or uses the Platform, whether as a visitor, a customer making a booking, or a business owner listing services.
• "Partner" or "Business Owner" means a verified business, tour operator, guide, resort, restaurant or service provider who lists services or products on the Platform.
• "Listing" means the public profile of a Partner, including descriptions, photos, prices, hours and location, as displayed on the Platform.
• "Booking" means a confirmed reservation of a service or product made through the Platform, including tours, guide services, stays, adventure slots and other bookable units.
• "Content" means all text, images, photographs, videos, ratings, reviews and other material on the Platform.

3. Eligibility & Accounts

The Platform is available to persons who are at least 18 years of age and capable of forming a binding contract under the Indian Contract Act, 1872. If you are below 18 years of age, you may use the Platform only under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to these Terms on your behalf.

• You must provide accurate, current and complete information when creating an account or making a booking.
• Your phone number is verified by a one-time password (OTP). You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your OTP and account and for all activity that occurs under your account.
• You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorised use of your account by writing to support@bayofbapatla.com.

4. Nature of the Platform

Bay of Bapatla is an intermediary and online marketplace under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 and the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020. We facilitate discovery, communication and booking between users and independent Partners. Unless expressly stated otherwise on a listing, the Platform is not the provider, owner or operator of the underlying tours, guides, stays, restaurants, shops or services.

• Each Partner is solely responsible for the goods and services they advertise, the accuracy of their listings, and their delivery, quality, safety and legal compliance.
• Prices, availability, descriptions and photographs are supplied by Partners and may change without notice. You should confirm details with the Partner before purchase where anything is material to your decision.
• Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, agency, joint venture or employment relationship between the Operator and any Partner.

5. Bookings & Payments

When you make a booking on the Platform, you are entering into a transaction with the relevant Partner, facilitated by the Platform. Your booking is confirmed only when the Platform confirms it after payment (or as otherwise indicated at the point of booking).

• All prices are displayed in Indian Rupees (₹) and include applicable taxes unless stated otherwise. GST, where applicable, will be shown on the invoice or confirmation, and the Operator's GSTIN is disclosed in the Operator Details section below.
• Payments are processed through licensed third-party payment aggregators. The Platform does not store your card numbers or full bank account details.
• By making a payment you authorise the payment aggregator to charge the amount to your chosen payment method, subject to the aggregator's terms and the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
• A confirmed booking is subject to the Partner's availability, capacity and the Platform's Cancellation & Refund Policy.
• In case of any discrepancy in pricing, the Platform and the Partner may cancel or adjust the booking before service delivery, with a full refund to you.

6. Acceptable Use & Prohibited Conduct

You agree not to use the Platform for any unlawful purpose or in any way that could damage, disable or impair the Platform. Without limiting the foregoing, you shall not:

• Provide false, misleading or fraudulent information, or impersonate any person or entity.
• Use the Platform to transact in, promote or solicit anything prohibited by law, including counterfeit, prohibited or dangerous goods.
• Post, upload or transmit any content that is obscene, defamatory, hateful, harassing, or that infringes the intellectual property or privacy rights of any person, or that violates the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the rules made thereunder.
• Manipulate prices, availability, reviews or ratings, or engage in fake or incentivised reviews. The Platform displays genuine, verified reviews and takes action against fraudulent reviews as required under Section 17(2) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Platform, its servers or connected networks, or interfere with the proper working of the Platform.
• Use automated tools, bots or scrapers to harvest data from the Platform without our prior written consent.
• Resell or commercialise Platform access or listings without authorisation.

7. Intellectual Property

The Platform and its original content — including the Bay of Bapatla name, logo, text, graphics, interfaces and software — are owned by the Operator or its licensors and are protected by Indian copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell or create derivative works from the Platform's proprietary content without prior written permission.

• By submitting content to the Platform (including listing information and photographs), you grant the Operator a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sub-licensable licence to host, store, display and use that content to operate and promote the Platform.
• You represent that you own or have the necessary rights to the content you submit, including the right to use any photographs uploaded to your listing.

8. Third-Party Services

The Platform relies on third-party service providers, including cloud infrastructure (Amazon Web Services), payment processing, mapping services (OpenStreetMap) and SMS/OTP delivery. Your use of these services may be subject to their own terms, and the Operator is not responsible for acts or omissions of such third parties beyond what is required by law.

9. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the Operator and its directors, officers, employees and agents shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, data or goodwill, arising out of or in connection with your use of the Platform, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

• The Platform is provided on an as-is and as-available basis, without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.
• Our aggregate liability to you for all claims arising from your use of the Platform shall not exceed the total amount paid by you to the Platform in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim, or ₹10,000, whichever is lower.
• Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes any rights you may have as a consumer under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, which cannot be limited or excluded by contract, including your right to seek remedies against a seller or service provider.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Operator and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in connection with:

• your use of the Platform;
• your violation of these Terms or any applicable law;
• your content or your conduct on the Platform; or
• any dispute between you and a Partner arising from a booking or transaction.

11. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to all or part of the Platform at any time, with or without notice, if you breach these Terms, if required by law, or if we reasonably believe continued access poses a risk to the Platform or other users. You may stop using the Platform at any time. Termination does not affect accrued rights, and any provision that by its nature should survive termination (including liability, indemnity and governing law clauses) shall survive.

12. Governing Law & Jurisdiction

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India, including the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and the rules made thereunder. Subject to mandatory consumer protections, all disputes arising out of or in connection with these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts at Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh, India.

13. Amendments

We may amend these Terms from time to time. The updated version will be posted on this page with a revised "last updated" date. Material changes will be communicated through the Platform where practicable. Your continued use of the Platform after the changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

14. Contact Us

For questions about these Terms, please write to support@bayofbapatla.com. For complaints and grievances, please use the channels described in our Grievance Redressal Policy.

15. Severability & Waiver

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. Our failure to enforce any provision at any time is not a waiver of our right to enforce it later, nor of any other provision.

16. Entire Agreement & Electronic Communications

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, Refund & Cancellation Policy, Delivery & Services Policy, Partner & Listing Policy, Grievance Redressal Policy and Disclaimer, constitute the entire agreement between you and the Operator regarding the Platform and supersede any prior agreements or understandings. By using the Platform you consent to receive communications from us electronically (including by SMS, email and in-platform notices), which satisfy any legal requirement that communications be in writing.

17. Consumer Rights

Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes any rights you may have as a consumer under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, including the right to seek remedies against sellers or service providers, to complain to consumer authorities, or to approach the appropriate consumer commission. Any term that is found to be unfair or contrary to consumer-protection law shall be read down to the minimum extent required by law.

18. Operator Details

In accordance with the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, the following details of the e-commerce entity are disclosed:

• Legal name: SIFA Geolabs
• Registered office: Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh 522311, India
• Contact email: support@bayofbapatla.com
• GSTIN: 37HMTPM4959N1ZO
• Grievance Officer: B MOHIDDIN (see our Grievance Redressal Policy for timelines).