Refund Policy

1. Overview

CRA Compliance Studio GmbH ("we", "us", "our") is committed to fair and transparent billing. This Refund Policy explains when and how refunds are issued for subscriptions to CRA Compliance Studio (the "Service"). Please read it carefully before purchasing a paid plan.

Our platform operates on a subscription model with a permanent free tier. Paid plans are billed monthly in advance. Refunds are handled on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the conditions described below and, where applicable, mandatory consumer protection rights under EU and German law.

2. Subscription Plans & Billing

CRA Compliance Studio offers the following subscription tiers:

• All prices are exclusive of VAT. EU businesses may apply reverse-charge VAT where applicable.
• Billing cycles run from the date of plan activation. Invoices are issued at the start of each billing period.
• Payments are processed securely. We do not store card details directly — all payment processing is handled by our PCI-DSS-certified payment provider.
• Failed payments result in a 7-day grace period. After that, the workspace is downgraded to the Free plan and data is preserved for 30 days.
• Pricing changes are communicated by email at least 30 days before they take effect.

3. Cancellation Policy

You may cancel your paid subscription at any time from your workspace Settings → Plan & Features. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. You retain full access to all paid features until that date.

After cancellation your workspace is automatically downgraded to the Free plan. Products and dossiers beyond the Free plan limits are placed in read-only mode for 30 days, giving you time to export data before it is removed.

4. Refund Eligibility

We evaluate refund requests fairly. A refund may be granted in the following circumstances:

• 14-day cancellation right (B2C customers): If you are a consumer (not acting in a professional or business capacity) and have not yet materially used the paid features, you have a statutory 14-day right of withdrawal from the purchase date under § 355 BGB. Submit your withdrawal request to info@cra-studio.eu.
• Duplicate payment: If you were charged twice for the same billing period due to a technical error, we will refund the duplicate charge in full.
• Significant service outage: If the Service experienced a verified outage exceeding 72 consecutive hours during your paid billing period and the outage was solely attributable to us (not third-party infrastructure such as Supabase or Netlify), we will issue a pro-rata credit or refund for the affected days.
• Billing error: If you were charged an incorrect amount due to a pricing configuration error on our end, we will refund the difference.
• Discretionary goodwill refunds: We may, at our sole discretion, issue a partial or full refund for other circumstances not listed above. Such refunds do not set a precedent for future cases.

5. Non-Refundable Items

The following are not eligible for refunds except where required by applicable law:

• Partial months — if you cancel mid-cycle, the remainder of the billing period is not refunded.
• Charges for usage that already occurred (e.g., PDF exports generated, SBOM scans consumed).
• Downgrade from a higher plan to a lower plan mid-cycle — the higher plan charge remains for the current period.
• Charges incurred after a failed cancellation request that was not confirmed by our support team.
• Annual plan fees after the 14-day statutory withdrawal window (B2B customers).
• Enterprise or custom contract fees governed by a separate Master Service Agreement (MSA).
• Add-on charges or professional services fees unless separately agreed in writing.

6. Service Provider Accounts

This exemption applies provided that:

• The service provider account is classified as service_partner in our system.
• The service provider does not use the platform for its own products — only to manage client workspaces.
• Each client workspace is set up as a separate tenant and billed independently.

If a service provider account is mistakenly charged a subscription fee, a full refund will be issued upon verification of the account's service-partner status. Contact info@cra-studio.eu with your account details.

Note: if a service provider also manages its own products under the same workspace, standard plan fees apply for that workspace.

7. How to Request a Refund

To request a refund, please follow these steps:

1. Send an email to info@cra-studio.eu with the subject line "Refund Request — [Your Workspace Name]".
2. Include the following information:
   • Your registered email address
   • Workspace name / tenant slug
   • Invoice number or transaction ID (visible on your invoice)
   • Amount charged and date of charge
   • Reason for the refund request
3. Our billing team will acknowledge your request within 2 business days and provide a decision within 5 business days.
4. If approved, the refund is issued to the original payment method. See Section 8 for processing times.

8. Processing Time

Once a refund is approved, processing times depend on your payment method:

• Credit / debit card: 5–10 business days to appear on your statement.
• SEPA bank transfer: 3–7 business days.
• Other payment methods: Up to 14 business days.

Refunds are always issued in Euros (EUR). Exchange rate differences due to currency conversion are outside our control and are not compensated separately.

9. Exceptions & Special Cases

• Account termination for breach: If we terminate your account for a material breach of our Terms of Service, no refund is issued for any remaining prepaid period.
• Force majeure: Service interruptions caused by events beyond our reasonable control (natural disasters, war, government action, third-party cloud infrastructure failures) do not entitle users to refunds.
• Chargebacks: If you initiate a chargeback through your payment provider without first contacting us, we reserve the right to immediately suspend your workspace and contest the chargeback. We encourage you to contact us first — we are committed to resolving billing disputes fairly and quickly.
• VAT refunds: VAT adjustments (e.g., if you provide a valid EU VAT number after payment) are handled as credit notes on future invoices, not as cash refunds, unless you close your account entirely.
• Right of withdrawal (B2C, EU): Consumers in the EU have a statutory 14-day right of withdrawal for digital services purchased online, as long as the service has not been fully performed with the consumer's express consent (§ 356 para. 5 BGB). By activating paid features and beginning use, you acknowledge that service delivery has commenced and waive the remaining withdrawal right.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Refund Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated by email and by a notice in the application at least 30 days before they take effect. The date at the top of this page ("Last updated") always reflects the most recent revision.

Continued use of the Service after the effective date of any changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy. If you disagree with a change, you may cancel your subscription before the effective date.

11. Contact