Studio Partner Terms & Conditions

Last Updated: May 2026

1. Partnership Agreement

1.1 Nature of Relationship

This is an independent contractor relationship. Partners are not employees, agents, or representatives of spotin. Each studio operates independently and is solely responsible for its facilities, equipment, staff, and compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

1.2 Non-Exclusive Agreement

This agreement is non-exclusive. Partners may list their studios on other platforms or accept direct bookings. However, bookings made through spotin must honour our cancellation policies and commission structure.

2. Commission & Revenue Sharing

2.1 Commission Structure

• Standard Commission: 25% of booking value goes to spotin
• Partner Earnings: 75% of booking value goes to partner studio
• Commission applies to all hourly bookings
• All prices displayed to customers are tax-inclusive. GST on studio services is the liability of the partner studio as the service provider. spotin collects TCS (Tax Collected at Source) at 1% of net booking value as required under Section 52 of the CGST Act and remits it to the government

2.2 Pricing Control

Partners set their own hourly rates. spotin displays studio hourly rates to customers.

2.3 Payment Settlement

• Partner earnings are settled every Monday for all bookings completed in the previous week (Monday to Sunday)
• Settlement is via NEFT/RTGS/IMPS to the registered bank account
• Minimum payout threshold: ₹1,000. Amounts below this threshold roll over to the next settlement cycle
• Partners must provide valid bank account details and PAN card for tax compliance
• A settlement statement is sent to the partner's registered email every Monday along with the transfer

3. Studio Listing Requirements

3.1 Mandatory Requirements

To be listed on spotin, studios must have:

• Professional lighting equipment (minimum 2 lights)
• Clean, well-maintained facility with proper ventilation and electrical safety
• Valid business registration and necessary permits
• Public liability insurance (recommended minimum ₹5 lakh coverage)

Verification & KYC: Partners must provide and warrant the accuracy of valid government business registration proof, identity proof of the authorised signatory, and address proof of studio premises. Submission of false or misleading documents will result in immediate termination under Section 12.2. spotin will make reasonable verification efforts as required under E-Commerce Rules, 2020 (Rule 5(1)(d)) before activating a listing.

3.2 Equipment Standards

Partners must maintain working equipment as listed. Any equipment downtime must be immediately reported to spotin to update availability on the platform.

3.3 Photography & Content

Partners must provide high-quality photos of their studio at the time of onboarding. If submitted photos do not meet quality standards, spotin may recommend professional photography. Any photography arranged by spotin will only proceed with the partner's prior written consent and mutually agreed cost arrangement.

4. Availability & Booking Management

4.1 Availability Calendar

• Partners must maintain an up-to-date availability calendar on the platform
• Blocked dates must be marked at least 48 hours in advance
• Operating hours must be clearly specified and honoured

4.2 Booking Acceptance

All bookings made through spotin are automatically confirmed. Partners cannot reject confirmed bookings except in cases of force majeure or equipment failure, which must be reported to spotin immediately with supporting details.

4.3 Availability Commitment

Partners should endeavour to make their studio available on a reasonable and consistent basis. Extended unavailability (7+ consecutive days) must be communicated to spotin in advance so the listing can be temporarily paused.

5. Quality Standards & Customer Service

5.1 Service Standards

Partners must:

• Greet customers professionally and provide orientation on equipment and facilities
• Ensure the studio is clean and ready before each booking
• Honour the full booked time slot without interruption
• Resolve customer issues promptly and professionally

5.2 Rating System

Partners are rated by customers on a 5-star scale. Maintaining a minimum 4.0 average rating is required for active listing status. Studios with ratings below 3.5 for 30 consecutive days will be sent a written notice by spotin with specific improvement areas. If the rating does not improve within 14 days of notice, the listing may be temporarily suspended pending review. Partners may contest a suspension within 7 days by writing to [email protected].

5.3 Customer Complaints

spotin will forward customer complaints to partners within 24 hours. Partners must respond within 48 hours. Escalation process:

• Step 1: Complaint forwarded to partner by spotin (within 24 hours of receipt)
• Step 2: Partner responds to spotin with resolution (within 48 hours)
• Step 3: spotin adjudicates based on evidence from both parties (within 7 days)
• Step 4: Either party may appeal within 7 days of spotin's decision
• Step 5: Unresolved disputes proceed to arbitration under Section 14.2

6. Cancellations & Refunds

6.1 Customer Cancellations

Partners must honour spotin's cancellation policy:

• 48+ hours before booking: Full refund to customer; no earnings for partner
• 24–48 hours before booking: 50% refund to customer; partner receives 37.5% of booking value
• Less than 24 hours: No refund to customer; partner receives full 75% earnings

6.2 Partner Cancellations

If a partner must cancel a confirmed booking:

• Customer receives 100% full refund within 5–7 business days to original Razorpay payment method
• spotin will arrange priority rebooking at an equivalent alternative studio for the affected customer
• Partner may be charged a ₹500 cancellation fee per incident. spotin will notify the partner before any such deduction. The partner may contest within 7 days by writing to [email protected]
• Repeated cancellations (3 or more in a month) may result in temporary listing suspension

The customer-facing refund and rebooking commitments are described in the spotin Cancellation & Refund Policy which is incorporated by reference.

7. Marketing & Promotion

7.1 spotin's Marketing Rights

Partners grant spotin a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual licence to use studio photos, descriptions, and customer reviews for platform listing, social media, blog content, and promotional materials. This licence continues for 6 months after termination for wind-down purposes.

7.2 Partner Marketing

Partners may promote their spotin listing on their own channels. However, partners must not:

• Actively solicit customers who have found the studio through spotin to book directly, bypassing spotin's platform, for a period of 12 months from their last spotin booking
• Misrepresent their relationship with spotin
• Use spotin's logo or branding without prior written permission

8. Data & Privacy

8.1 Customer Data

Partners receive customer contact information (name, phone, email) solely for the purpose of fulfilling confirmed bookings. Note: spotin sends booking confirmations via WhatsApp Cloud API with customer consent obtained at booking. Partners must not initiate unsolicited communications to customers beyond what is necessary for the confirmed booking. Partners must:

• Use this data only for the specific booking for which it was shared
• Not share customer data with any third parties
• Not use customer data for marketing or solicitation without the customer's explicit consent
• Handle and retain customer data in compliance with applicable Indian law, including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023

8.2 Security Cameras

If studios have CCTV cameras, this must be disclosed to customers at the time of booking and at the studio entrance. Recordings must not violate customer privacy and must comply with the IT Act, 2000. Recordings may not be shared with third parties without customer consent or valid legal authority.

9. Insurance & Liability

9.1 Partner Insurance

Partners are strongly recommended to maintain public liability insurance (minimum ₹5 lakh), equipment insurance, and property insurance.

9.2 Partner Liability

Partners are solely liable for injuries to customers or staff on studio premises, damage to customer property, and equipment malfunctions causing customer losses. spotin is not liable for any incidents occurring at partner studios.

10. Tax Compliance

10.1 Tax Responsibilities

• Partners are responsible for all applicable taxes on their earnings from spotin
• spotin will deduct TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) as per the Income Tax Act (as amended from time to time)
• Partners must provide PAN details for TDS compliance
• TDS deducted will be reflected in the partner's Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) available on the Income Tax portal (incometax.gov.in). Partners may download their TDS details directly from the portal under the "Tax Credit" section

10.2 GST & TCS (Tax Collected at Source)

As an e-commerce operator (ECO) under CGST Act Section 52, spotin collects Tax Collected at Source (TCS) at 1% of net booking value and remits it to the government via GSTR-8 (filed monthly). Spotin does NOT collect or remit GST on behalf of partner studios. GST on studio booking services is the independent liability of each partner studio as the actual service provider. Partners who are GST-registered must charge and remit GST on their services independently.

If a partner studio is independently registered under GST, they must inform spotin with their GSTIN. In such cases, the applicable GST obligations will be determined as per CGST rules to avoid double taxation. GST-registered partners will receive a monthly statement of supplies made through spotin for their own GST filing purposes.

11. Intellectual Property

Partners confirm they own or have the right to use all content (photos, descriptions, videos) submitted to spotin for listing purposes. Partners grant spotin the licence described in Section 7. On termination, spotin will remove the studio listing within 7 business days.

12. Termination

12.1 Termination by Partner

Partners may delist their studio with 30 days' written notice to [email protected]. All confirmed bookings within the notice period must be honoured. Final earnings settlement will be processed on the Monday following the last completed booking.

12.2 Termination by spotin

spotin may suspend or terminate a partner listing for repeated violations of these terms, consistent poor ratings (below 3.5 for 30+ days after notice), fraudulent activity or misrepresentation, or unauthorised direct booking solicitation. spotin will provide 7 days' written notice before termination except in cases of fraud or immediate safety concerns.

13. Force Majeure

Neither party shall be liable for failure to perform obligations due to circumstances beyond reasonable control including acts of God, pandemics, government restrictions, power failures, or other force majeure events. The affected party must notify the other within 48 hours of the event.

14. Dispute Resolution & Arbitration

14.1 Good Faith Negotiation

Both parties agree to resolve disputes through good-faith negotiation for a period of 30 days before initiating formal proceedings.

14.2 Arbitration

If negotiation fails, disputes shall be resolved through binding arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — sole arbitrator, seat at Gurugram, Haryana. The arbitral award shall be final and binding. Either party may seek interim injunctive relief from a competent court without this being a waiver of arbitration.

14.3 Governing Law

These terms are governed by the laws of India. Courts at Gurugram, Haryana shall have exclusive jurisdiction for matters outside the scope of arbitration.

15. Modifications

spotin may modify these terms with 30 days' written notice to partners via registered email. Continued listing after the notice period constitutes acceptance of the modified terms. If a partner does not accept the changes, they may terminate with 30 days' notice as per Section 12.1.

16. Contact

For partner support:
Email: [email protected] (Subject: "Partner Support – [Studio Name]")
Grievance Officer: Mayank Srivastav, Chief Operating Officer (COO)
WhatsApp: +91 87964 98297
Address: 032, Tower H, Spaze Privvy, Sector 93, Gurugram – 122505, Haryana