Shipping & Delivery Policy

Last updated: [DD Month YYYY]

This Shipping & Delivery Policy applies to every order placed on [website URL], within India and worldwide, and should be read together with our Terms and Conditions and, for orders outside India, our International Shipping, Customs & Export Compliance Policy.

1. Minimum Order Processing Time — 15 Days

Every order placed on the Site, without exception, requires a minimum of 15 (fifteen) calendar days from the date of order confirmation and payment receipt before it is dispatched. This applies even to items marked as “in stock,” because our process includes:

• Quality inspection of the specific piece allocated to your order, including a check for hairline cracks, chips, or finish inconsistencies before it leaves our facility;
• Specialised fragile-item packing appropriate to statues, temples, and stone/handicraft products (see Section 6);
• Preparation of invoices, GST documentation, and, for international orders, customs/export paperwork;
• Courier/freight booking and scheduling, which for oversized or heavy pieces may require a specific freight slot rather than a standard courier pickup; and
• A final photographic record of the packed item before handover to the courier, retained by us to assist with any transit-damage claim under our Cancellation, Return & Refund Policy.

This 15-day window is a disclosed, standard part of our process and is not treated as a delay, service failure, or grounds for cancellation. If your order is ready before the 15-day window elapses, we may, at our discretion, dispatch it earlier.

2. Custom / Made-to-Order Timelines

Made-to-order and custom-commissioned statues, temples, and bespoke pieces take considerably longer than the 15-day minimum above, because production only begins after your specifications and any required advance payment are confirmed. Indicative ranges (to be confirmed precisely for your specific commission at the time of order):

• Small to medium custom pieces: typically [4–8 weeks] from confirmation to dispatch.
• Large or intricate custom statues/temples: typically [8–16 weeks] or longer, depending on size, material, and detailing.
• Multi-piece temple sets or architectural commissions: timeline to be quoted individually, as these may involve multiple artisans working in sequence.

These timelines are estimates based on artisan availability, seasonal workshop capacity, and material sourcing (certain stones or woods are sourced to order and subject to their own lead time), and may extend further for exceptionally large or complex commissions; any material change will be communicated to you as soon as we become aware of it. Custom-order timelines are not grounds for cancellation or refund under our No Cancellation & No Refund Policy.

3. Domestic Shipping (India)

We ship across India to all serviceable pin codes via our courier and logistics partners. For fragile, oversized, or heavy statues/temples, delivery may be handled through a specialised freight/logistics partner, and additional handling time beyond the standard estimate may apply. Deliveries to remote or hill/island regions (for example, parts of the North-East, Jammu & Kashmir, Andaman & Nicobar, and Lakshadweep) may carry a longer transit time and, in some cases, an additional remote-area surcharge disclosed at checkout.

4. Worldwide Shipping

We ship internationally to most countries worldwide, subject to serviceability by our courier/freight partners and the destination country’s import regulations (see our International Shipping, Customs & Export Compliance Policy for full detail). Key points:

• International orders are typically shipped Delivered-at-Place (DAP) / Delivered Duty Unpaid (DDU) terms — meaning you, the recipient, are responsible for any import duty, customs clearance fee, VAT/GST, or other local tax charged by your country’s customs authority on arrival, in addition to the price and shipping charge paid at checkout.
• International delivery timelines are longer than domestic timelines and depend heavily on customs clearance in the destination country, which is outside our control.
• Some countries restrict or prohibit the import of religious idols, stone/mineral products, or specific materials; it is your responsibility to confirm your country permits import of the item before ordering. We are not liable for shipments seized, delayed, or returned by foreign customs authorities.
• For very large or heavy international commissions, we may recommend sea freight instead of air courier; this carries a longer, but usually more economical, transit time, and will be discussed with you at the quotation stage.

5. Shipping Charges

Shipping charges (domestic and international) are calculated based on the weight, dimensions, fragility, and delivery destination of your order, and are displayed at checkout before payment. Any free-shipping thresholds or promotional offers will be clearly indicated on the Site at the time of your order. International shipping charges do not include destination-country import duties or taxes, which are separate and payable by you (see Section 4 and our International Shipping, Customs & Export Compliance Policy).

6. Packaging

Given the fragile and handcrafted nature of statues, temples, and décor pieces, items are individually wrapped in protective material, cushioned with shock-absorbent packing, and boxed in corrugated cartons — with reinforced wooden crating for large, heavy, or international/freight shipments where necessary — to minimise the risk of damage in transit. Please retain the original packaging until you have inspected the item, as it may be required to support a transit-damage claim under our Cancellation, Return & Refund Policy.

7. Order Tracking

Once your order is dispatched, you will receive a shipping confirmation with the courier/freight partner name and tracking number via email/SMS/WhatsApp. You can also track your order status from your account dashboard on the Site, where available. For international freight shipments, tracking visibility may be less granular than domestic courier tracking, consistent with standard international freight practice.

8. Delivery Timelines

Estimated delivery timelines, once dispatched, are provided as an estimate only and are not guaranteed, and may be affected by courier delays, customs processing (for international orders), weather (including monsoon-season disruptions within India), regional restrictions, festival/holiday periods, or force majeure events beyond our control. We will keep you informed of any significant delay, but delivery-timeline estimates are not grounds for order cancellation under our No Cancellation & No Refund Policy.

9. Delivery Attempts, Address Accuracy, and Signature

Please ensure the shipping address, contact number, and (for international orders) any customs-required identification/tax details provided at checkout are accurate and complete; we are not responsible for delay or misdelivery caused by incorrect information you provided. Couriers will typically make [2–3] delivery attempts before returning a shipment to origin. High-value or fragile shipments may require a signature on delivery. We are unable to deliver to PO Box addresses for freight/crated shipments due to size. If you need to change your delivery address, contact us immediately at [support email] — changes can only be accommodated before Dispatch.

10. Failed or Delayed Delivery Attempts

If delivery fails due to an incorrect address, unavailability of the recipient after repeated attempts, refusal to pay applicable customs duty, or refusal to accept the shipment, the order is treated as delivered for the purposes of our No Cancellation & No Refund Policy, and any return-to-origin shipping or customs costs will be your responsibility.

11. Multiple-Item Orders

Orders containing multiple items, including a mix of Ready-Stock and Custom Order pieces, may be shipped in separate parcels and at different times to reflect their respective processing timelines; you will be notified accordingly, and shipping charges may be calculated per shipment where this occurs.

12. Contact

For any shipping-related query, contact us at [support email] or [support phone number, with +91 country code for international callers], quoting your order number.