Shipping Policy

1. Courier partner

We ship across India using Shiprocket's multi-courier network — Delhivery, Blue Dart, XpressBees, DTDC, Ecom Express, India Post and others. Shiprocket's routing engine picks the fastest / cheapest Surface-mode courier for each PIN code at label-print time. Tracking is unified across couriers from your order history.

2. UN 1361 hazmat status — Surface only

Charcoal is classified UN 1361, Class 4.2 (self-heating substance) under the IMDG Code and the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations, and is similarly notified by India's Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) for rail and road movement. By regulation it is shipped Surface only within India — road and rail. Air freight is not available for any charcoal SKU on this Site (lumps, briquettes, powder or activated grades). Booking will not surface an air option at checkout, even on routes where air is technically faster.

The MSDS (UN 1361 sheet) is included in every B2B consignment and is available to retail buyers on request from hello@woodcharcoal.in.

3. Delivery timelines

Typical delivery windows for Surface-mode dispatch, counted from order confirmation (working days only — Sundays and gazetted public holidays excluded):

• Metro cities (Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad): 2 to 4 working days.
• Tier-2 cities (Jaipur, Lucknow, Indore, Surat, Coimbatore, Kochi, etc.): 3 to 5 working days.
• Tier-3 cities and rural PIN codes: 5 to 8 working days.
• North-East states, Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh: 6 to 10 working days.

Orders placed before 2:00 PM IST on a working day are dispatched within 2 business days; later orders are processed on the next working day. The dispatch commitment is logged on the invoice in accordance with Rule 5(3)(j) of the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020.

4. Shipping cost

• Free delivery on orders ≥ ₹999 (cart subtotal, before GST).
• Below ₹999: flat ₹99 Standard Surface shipping, calculated at checkout.
• Express Surface (where serviceable) is shown as a paid option at checkout.
• Orders > 25 kg may incur a per-kg surcharge — disclosed at checkout before payment.
• Pallet shipments and dedicated-truck dispatch are freight-quoted separately after a wholesale inquiry.

5. Serviceable areas

We deliver to the ~29,000+ PIN codes covered by Shiprocket's Surface network — that is over 95% of inhabited Indian PIN codes. Enter your PIN on any product page to confirm serviceability and see the live ETA before placing the order.

If your PIN is not serviceable, the order will not proceed to checkout. We do not currently ship to military APO / FPO addresses or to addresses inside SEZs without a separate logistics arrangement — please email sales@woodcharcoal.in.

6. Cash on Delivery (COD)

COD is available on most PIN codes for orders up to ₹1,500 inclusive. A small COD handling fee may apply and is shown at checkout. Cash is accepted by the courier on delivery; please keep the exact amount ready. Wholesale orders and orders above ₹1,500 are prepaid only (UPI / cards / Net Banking / wallets).

7. Tracking and notifications

From the moment you place an order, you receive:

• An immediate order confirmation email with the GST-compliant tax invoice.
• A dispatch notification (email + SMS) with the courier name and tracking link the moment the courier scans the AWB at pickup.
• Out-for-delivery and delivered SMS alerts via DLT-registered sender ID.
• Live tracking on your order page, including the Shiprocket scan log.
• Public order tracking at /track/ if you checked out as a guest.

8. Packaging — EPR-registered, charcoal-specific

Charcoal needs packaging that handles weight, dust, and moisture differently from most parcel categories. Every WoodCharcoal.in shipment uses:

• Inner: heavy-gauge HDPE (polyethylene) bags, heat-sealed, to keep moisture out and contain charcoal dust during handling.
• Outer: double-wall corrugated cardboard cartons sized to the lot, with paper-based void-fill where required.
• Kraft-paper gummed tape on the outer carton (we avoid plastic tape on the exterior wherever possible).
• Hazmat-compliant labelling on the outer carton: UN 1361, Class 4.2, "Surface Transport Only" — as required for self-heating Class 4.2 consignments.

Agochar Tech LLP is registered as a brand-owner under the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change under the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 (as amended in 2022). The EPR registration number is printed on the wholesale carton label and is available on request for retail buyers who need it for their own ESG reporting.

How to dispose of our packaging:

• HDPE bags — empty and shake out residue, then hand to your municipality's dry-waste / recycling stream (resin code 2 / HDPE). Most kabadiwallahs accept HDPE.
• Corrugated cardboard outer — flatten and add to the paper / recycling stream. Clean cardboard with charcoal dust is fine in home compost as a brown / carbon-rich layer.
• Kraft-paper void-fill — recyclable or compostable.

9. Damage in transit

If a parcel arrives visibly damaged — carton crushed, soaked, torn, or charcoal dust leaking through the outer — you have two options:

1. Refuse delivery at the door and tell the courier you are sending it back. Photograph the parcel before the courier leaves, then email us — we will dispatch a replacement.
2. Accept the parcel after photographing the outer carton, then open and inspect within 24 hours. If contents are wet, contaminated or fragmented beyond use, follow the return process in our Refund Policy.

Broken / fragmented charcoal in transit is replaced. Opened bags are not returnable — please raise the claim from photographs taken at unboxing, before the bag is opened. Refund and replacement timelines for transit-damaged shipments are described in Refund & Return Policy §4.

10. Failed delivery / RTO handling

If the courier is unable to deliver the parcel (consignee not reachable, address not found, wrong PIN, address change after dispatch), they will reattempt twice on subsequent working days. After the third unsuccessful attempt the parcel is marked RTO (Return to Origin) and shipped back to our warehouse.

• For prepaid orders: a full refund (less actual outbound + return courier cost, capped at ₹150) is issued within 5 working days of the RTO scan at our warehouse.
• For COD orders: no charge applies — the order is automatically cancelled.
• You may re-order the same items; the previous order does not auto-redispatch (the warehouse needs to re-inspect the returned cartons because UN 1361 stock cannot be re-sold without re-verification).

11. International shipping

We ship wholesale charcoal consignments internationally to the Middle East, Europe and Southeast Asia with full IMDG / IMO Class 4.2 documentation — HS codes, MSDS, Certificates of Analysis and lot test reports are provided with every export shipment. International freight is quoted per inquiry; please use our wholesale form with destination country, importer details and estimated container volume, or email sales@woodcharcoal.in.

We do not currently offer international direct-to-consumer (D2C) shipping — only B2B / wholesale.

12. Force majeure

Delivery timelines are best-effort estimates. We are not liable for delays caused by events beyond reasonable control — natural disasters, transport strikes, civil disturbance, fire, government restrictions, public-holiday surges, or pandemic disruptions, within the meaning of §56 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872. We will keep you informed and, where the delay is material, offer a refund or redispatch as appropriate.

13. Contact

Shipping questions: hello@woodcharcoal.in · Phone +91 86986 76976 · Mon–Sat, 10:00 – 19:00 IST