Return & Exchange Policy

7-Day Return Window

To request a return, hardware exchange, or parts replacement, you must formally notify our customer care team within seven (7) calendar days (exactly 168 hours). This strict eligibility window commences precisely at the delivery timestamp recorded by the courier tracking system (for shipped items) or the exact calendar date and hour printed on the physical tax invoice receipt (for in-person collections).

Late Submissions & Restocking Fees

To maintain our high engineering standards and protect our supply chain integrity, the following conditions are strictly enforced under this return window:

• Late Requests Barred: Any notification of return, parts replacement, or structural exchange received after the expiration of this 168-hour timeline will be automatically and strictly rejected without engineering or administrative review.
• Restocking & Handling Fee: All approved returns of non-defective hardware products are subject to a fifteen percent (15%) restocking and handling fee. This fee covers our extensive quality assurance procedures, including complete physical engineering diagnostics, firmware verification, static shielding audit, and system database database recalibration.
• Change-of-Mind Exclusions: The 15% restocking fee applies to all returns initiated due to client change of mind, project scope changes, accidental order placements, or incorrect hardware model selections.
• Installation Exclusion: Under no circumstances will we accept returns or exchanges for electronic components, microcontrollers, networking gears, custom sensors, or IoT boards that have already been soldered, wired, mounted, programmed, or configured in active circuits. This protects our inventory against latent electrostatic discharge (ESD) damage, improper electrical polarization, or thermal degradation during prototyping.

Eligible Item Condition

For a physical hardware return or parts exchange to be authorized, the returned package must undergo a strict quality control inspection by our engineering team and must fully satisfy all of the following criteria:

• Original Factory State: The component must be completely unused, unmounted, unmodified, and clean, showing zero cosmetic blemishes, mounting scratches, terminal strip marks, or test bench residue.
• Intact Security Seals: All anti-static bags, shrink-wraps, protective seals, serial numbers, and manufacturer barcodes must be unbroken, untampered, and fully intact. Any broken or re-taped seal on static-sensitive hardware will void the return eligibility instantly.
• Outer Box Protection: The manufacturer's original product box or decorative casing must not be used as the outer shipping box. The returned item must be securely placed inside a separate, robust protective shipping carton to prevent courier labels, writing ink, or heavy adhesive tape from defacing the original packaging.
• Complete Package Integrity: The package must contain all original components, instruction manuals, accessories, cabling, mounting brackets, and promotional inserts originally included in the shipment.
• No Bench Testing or Powering: The item must not have been connected to any power source, lab bench power supply, logic analyzer, or circuit board. Applying power to a microcontroller or sensor constitutes a field deployment and invalidates any return option.
• Verification Proof: The item must be accompanied by the original physical tax invoice, printed receipt, or a verified digital checkout ID from our client portal.

Non-Returnable & Final Sale

To maintain operational agility, technical supply chain security, and strict quality standards, the following categories of products and technical services are strictly Final Sale and are not eligible for any refund, return, or exchange credit under any circumstances:

• Custom-Built IoT & Fabrications: Any printed circuit boards (PCBs), customized IoT enclosures, tailored server rails, specialized cabling, or physical hardware solutions engineered to client-specific physical layouts or technical specifications. This includes any customized firmware pre-flashed onto stock hardware at the client's request.
• Digital Licenses & Subscriptions: Dedicated cloud server provisions, custom API access tokens, cloud storage hosting, database configurations, and active Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) usage licenses, as well as completed engineering consulting hours and custom software development sprints.
• Unsealed Consumable Components: Any lithium-polymer batteries, thermal pads, thermal paste spools, solder wire, heat shrink tubing, wire coils, and single-use chemical calibration packets once their original manufacturer's shrink-wrap or protective blister packaging has been opened.
• Fluid-Exposed & Environmental Sensors: Any pH sensors, soil moisture probes, dissolved oxygen sensors, or environmental telemetry nodes that have been submerged or exposed to chemical solutions, soil, moisture, or gaseous chemicals, due to the risk of chemical contamination and sensor drift.
• Clearance & Promotional Stock: Any items purchased under clearance sales, promotional events, bulk series discounts, end-of-line closeouts, or sold in "as-is" b-grade/refurbished condition.

Processing a Return

If you meet all the eligibility guidelines, you must execute the following structured process to complete your return:

Step 1: Obtain Return Authorization (RMA)

Submit a formal return request containing your tax invoice, purchase receipt, and digital checkout ID to [email protected] within the 168-hour return window. If eligible, our administrative desk will issue a formal Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) Number and an electronic RMA form. Returns shipped without a valid RMA number clearly displayed on the exterior packaging will be rejected at our receiving dock and returned to the sender at their sole expense.

Step 2: Secure Packaging and Insured Transit

Securely pack the components in their original factory boxing, with the issued RMA form enclosed inside the package, and the RMA number clearly visible on the outer shipping label. The client is solely responsible for all return shipping fees, custom duties, warehousing handling, and courier transit risk. We strongly mandate using a reputable trackable freight carrier (such as DHL, FedEx, or G4S Secure Logistics) with full transit insurance equal to the replacement value of the hardware.

Step 3: Quality Control Lab Audit

Our quality assurance and hardware development engineers will perform a physical, cosmetic, and technical diagnostic audit of the returned components within three (3) business days of arrival at our Nairobi engineering facility. This audit verifies serial number correlation, tests circuit resistance, confirms factory firmware parameters, and assesses protective/anti-static seal integrity to verify compliance with all condition criteria.

Step 4: Refund Disbursement

Upon positive confirmation of compliance from the engineering lab, your refund (minus the statutory 15% restocking and handling fee) will be officially approved and disbursed. The refund will be credited back to your original payment channel (M-Pesa registered mobile money number or formal corporate bank account via EFT/RTGS) within five (5) to seven (7) business days. Cash refunds are strictly prohibited to maintain clear audit trails.

Damaged or Wrong Orders

We perform rigorous, dual quality assurance and telemetry diagnostic checks on all outgoing products before they are dispatched from our receiving dock. In the highly unlikely event that your package is damaged during shipping or if you received incorrect components, you must formally notify our team within forty-eight (48) hours of carrier delivery (as confirmed by the courier tracking log).

Reporting Requirements & Logistics

To qualify for a cost-free parts replacement, your report must be sent to [email protected] and must include: (1) high-resolution photographic or video evidence showing the damaged shipping carton and the affected hardware items; (2) a photo of the barcode/serial number on the product box; and (3) a copy of the carrier's delivery receipt showing any noted exception remarks. Upon verification of your submission, Eelam Innovations Limited will cover all parts replacement, customs clearance, and courier logistics costs to deliver the correct components to your physical address immediately. We will issue a priority dispatch notice within 24 hours of report validation.

Policy Support Desk

For questions, clarification, or compliance audits regarding our Return & Exchange Policy, contact our dedicated Customer Care Desk. Our team commits to an enterprise-grade 24-hour response SLA for all return-linked inquiries. Official physical notifications must be served during standard East African Time (EAT) hours, and all correspondence should go to the contact options below: