Vanilla Technology Refund and Return Policy

Version: v1.0
Effective Date: 2026-10-24
Applicable Domains: https://vaillai.com (public website), https://cp.vaillai.com (platform console), and the pages and subdomains thereunder
Language Precedence: This English version is an auxiliary translation of the Refund and Return Policy, alongside the Japanese version (refund-policy.ja.md) and the Thai version (refund-policy.th.md). The Traditional Chinese version (refund-policy.zh-TW.md) is the official version. In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between the versions, the Traditional Chinese version shall prevail.

This Policy has been finalised and takes effect on 24 October 2026.

The refund conditions, application deadlines, calculation methods, review and disbursement timelines, and the method of calculating liquidated damages set out in this Policy have been finalised by the Operator and take effect on 24 October 2026. Where the parties agree on return or refund arrangements at the time a Subscription is formed, such arrangements shall take precedence in accordance with Section 1.6. Items marked as pending are matters that have not yet been obtained; currently only the Taiwan unified business number remains outstanding.

This Refund and Return Policy (the "Policy") is made by Vanilla Technology Co., Ltd. (platform brand: Vanilla SI) (the "Operator") and governs the handling of returns and refunds arising from a User's subscription to the Operator's cloud service platform (the "Platform").

1. Scope and Effect of this Policy

This Section governs who this Policy applies to, its relationship with the other terms, the definition of a subscription, and when this Policy takes effect and in what order of precedence it applies.

1.1 This Policy governs the handling of returns, refunds and related fee matters arising from a User's subscription to the cloud services provided by the Operator on the Platform.

1.2 This Policy applies concurrently with the "Terms of Service" (《服務條款》) and the "Privacy Policy" (《隱私權政策》). In the event of inconsistency among the three, this Policy shall prevail in respect of returns and refunds; all other matters shall be governed by the "Terms of Service".

1.3 "User" under this Policy includes the Merchant (tenant) and its Users (user), whose role definitions are the same as those in Section 2.2 of the "Terms of Service".

1.4 "Subscription" under this Policy means a paid use of, or an arrangement for paid use of, the Platform's service items, plans or modules made by a User through the Platform Console or through other channels announced by the Operator.

1.5 This Policy takes effect on 24 October 2026 (the same date as version 1.0 of the "Terms of Service"). For Subscriptions formed before that date, returns and refunds shall be handled in accordance with the agreement between the parties at the time the Subscription was formed and the "Terms of Service".

1.6 Where the parties agree at the time a Subscription is formed on return or refund arrangements in writing, by e-mail, by console message or by any other confirmable means, such arrangements shall take precedence over this Policy.

1.7 If any provision of this Policy is held invalid, unlawful or unenforceable by a court or arbitral tribunal, that provision shall be deemed deleted or modified to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

1.8 The purpose of this Policy is to protect the rights and interests of consumers and Users with respect to refunds arising from paid transactions.

2. Nature of the Service and Applicability of Returns

This Section governs the nature of the services provided by the Platform and the manner in which a return and refund policy applies to cloud services.

2.1 The Platform is a multi-tenant cloud service platform built on a "framework plus modules" architecture. Intended application scenarios include AI customer service, automated cross-border e-commerce replies and multilingual operations.

2.2 The services provided by the Platform are cloud services delivered online and are not physical goods. Accordingly, there is no procedure for physical-goods exchange, return of defective goods or goods delivery. "Return" as used in this Policy refers to the handling of refunds and the termination of a Subscription.

2.3 The Platform's pricing plans have been announced on the official website (see Section 5.1 of the "Terms of Service"); before a Subscription is established, the Platform will not create any receivable or payable amount by way of charges against a User.

2.4 The Platform provides services and collects payment online, and the formation of a Subscription shall be handled in accordance with the E-Commerce Act, as further described in Section 5.4 of the "Terms of Service".

2.5 This Policy does not apply to any dispute over returns or refunds arising from a User's provision of goods or services to the User's own customers or consumers; the User shall handle such disputes under its own contract with those third parties.

2.6 Where a service is not a physical good and is fully delivered once provided, refunds shall be handled in accordance with Chapters 3 to 5 of this Policy.

2.7 This Policy is drafted specifically for online software subscriptions (SaaS) and is unrelated to the delivery, return or exchange of defective physical goods. The characteristics of a software subscription are reflected in this Policy as follows: the service is provided and delivered online immediately after the Subscription is formed, and there is no physical good to be returned; whether the service has been provided is determined by whether the account is activated, the module is enabled and the function is usable; fees are charged per billing cycle, refunds are calculated pro rata against the amount actually paid and the remaining period (Section 3.3), and no refund is made for the part of the service the User has actually used (Section 3.4).

2.8 Message processing quota included in a Subscription plan that remains unused at the end of the billing cycle is neither discounted nor credited; refunds for purchased message quota are handled under Section 3.8.

3. Return and Refund Principles

This Section governs the basic principles of returns and refunds, the basis on which refunds are calculated, and the general circumstances in which a User may apply for a return or refund.

3.1 A refund is capped at the amount actually paid by the User. Except where otherwise provided in this Policy or the "Terms of Service", the Operator shall not be obliged to make any additional payment as a result of a refund.

3.2 The basis for calculating a refund is the amount actually paid by the User. Trial periods, trial credits, offsets, coupons, promotional entitlements granted by the Platform, and any amount not actually collected shall not be included in the refund amount.

3.3 Refunds are calculated on a daily basis: refund amount = amount paid × (number of days remaining in the billing cycle ÷ total number of days in the billing cycle); where the number of days remaining is less than 1 day, it shall be counted as 1 day. This Policy does not apply a "no refund within the billing cycle" approach. The refund amount is capped at the amount actually paid by the User, and no separate refund cap is imposed.

3.4 Where a User has actually used the paid services within the billing cycle (including enabling modules, generating usage, calling the API, or services already provided by the Merchant to third parties), the Operator shall refund that period pro rata, deducting only third-party costs actually incurred (for example monthly fees actually paid to a third party). "Actual use" shall be determined by reference to module activation records, API call volume records and AI usage records.

3.5 A User who, after a Subscription has been formed, has not enabled any paid service nor generated any paid usage may apply to terminate the Subscription in accordance with Chapter 6; whether the refund conditions are met shall be determined in accordance with Section 3.3, Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 of this Policy.

3.6 The Operator shall complete the application, review and disbursement of refunds within a reasonable period, and shall not cause a User to bear any additional disadvantage as a result of the refund process.

3.7 The handling of refunds shall not be suspended because a User's account has been suspended or deleted; provided that the User shall provide the payee details for the refund before the account is deleted (see Section 10.3).

3.8 A User who has purchased additional message quota during the billing cycle and has not used it may apply for a refund of the unused portion; the used portion is not refundable. The refundable amount for purchased quota is capped at the amount actually paid for that purchase and is calculated in proportion to the unused portion of the purchased quota.

3.9 The cost of the AI model service provided by the Platform is included in the Subscription fee and is a service cost of the Platform rather than a third-party service procured by the User; Section 5.1.3 therefore does not apply, and the User is not required to pay separately for the AI model service.

4. Circumstances in which a Return or Refund may be Claimed

This Section governs the grounds on which a User may apply for a return or refund and the limitations on those grounds.

4.1 A User may apply for a return or refund in any of the following circumstances:

• 4.1.1 the service is interrupted or cannot be provided normally for reasons attributable to the Operator (system maintenance, system upgrades, handling of information security incidents, material defects or faults), and the interruption was not announced in accordance with Section 15.2 of the "Terms of Service";
• 4.1.2 the Operator fails to provide the service item or module selected by the User in accordance with Section 2.3 of the "Terms of Service";
• 4.1.3 a material information security incident occurs on the Platform resulting in unauthorised access to or leakage of the User's data;
• 4.1.4 after the Subscription is formed, the User has not enabled any paid service and has generated no paid usage within 14 days, and this is confirmed by the Operator on review; the refund amount is capped at the amount actually paid and no separate cap is imposed;
• 4.1.5 the Operator changes the charging mechanism or pricing plan during the testing phase, resulting in damage to the User's existing paid entitlements;
• 4.1.6 any other circumstance agreed by both parties in writing.

4.2 A User who applies for a return or refund due to a change in its own requirements, an erroneous purchase, a duplicate subscription, or a decision not to use the service may do so in accordance with Chapter 6; the calculation and approval of such refund shall be determined in accordance with Chapters 3 and 5 of this Policy.

4.3 A User may not claim a refund on the ground of the actions of a third party (such as Google LLC, NewebPay or Taishin Bank); provided that this does not apply where such third party's actions directly result in the paid service being unavailable and the Operator fails to remove the obstruction within a reasonable period.

4.4 The applicant bears the burden of evidence under this Section in accordance with Section 6.3; where the matter is verifiable from the Operator's own systems or records, the Operator shall verify it on its own initiative.

5. Limitations on Returns and Refunds and Circumstances where they Do Not Apply

This Section governs the circumstances in which a refund may not be claimed, the grounds on which refunds are limited, and the scope of matters to which the return and refund procedure does not apply.

5.1 A User may not claim a refund in any of the following circumstances:

• 5.1.1 the service has been terminated under Section 8 or Section 15.3 of the "Terms of Service" because of a material breach by the User;
• 5.1.2 the account has been impersonated or used without authorisation, or the charges result from the User's failure to take the credential-preservation measures required by Sections 4.1 to 4.3 of the "Terms of Service";
• 5.1.3 the amount paid is for third-party services procured by the User (such as Google Workspace subscription fees) and is not paid to the Operator;
• 5.1.4 the User has transferred or made the service available to a third party before applying for a refund, or has already applied for a refund in respect of the same dispute;
• 5.1.5 the application is made with false information or forged evidence, and this is established on verification.

5.2 Where a User voluntarily revokes a third-party authorisation (for example, revoking Google Workspace authorisation) and the corresponding function can no longer be used, the Platform shall not be obliged to refund on that ground; however, as to the costs saved by the Platform as a result, the Operator may deduct the third-party fees attributable to the unused period from the refund amount, limited to the third-party cost actually paid, without deriving any profit therefrom.

5.3 This Policy does not apply to trial accounts, free plans or promotional entitlements obtained by a User free of charge. No billing-cycle discount is granted where a free plan or trial converts into a paid Subscription.

5.4 A refund claimed under Section 4.1 may not be accompanied by a demand that the Operator separately provide services or entitlements for the same period; this does not apply where the parties have agreed otherwise in writing.

5.5 Amounts already handled under Chapter 9 in respect of duplicate payments or overpayment may not be claimed again under Chapter 6.

6. Application Procedure

This Section governs the manner in which a return or refund application is submitted, the information it must contain, the applicant's cooperation obligations, the filing deadline and the response time.

6.1 A return or refund application shall be submitted in writing by any of the following means: the corresponding application interface on the Platform Console, sending an e-mail to the Operator's contact address service@vaillai.com, or any other means announced by the Operator.

6.2 The application shall state the following: the applicant's name and account identifying information; the subscription/order reference; the time and amount of payment; the payment method; the reason for the return or refund and an explanation of that reason; and the form of remedy sought (a refund or termination of the Subscription).

6.3 The applicant shall cooperate with the Operator in reviewing account records, payment records and service usage, and shall provide verifiable transaction evidence where necessary.

6.4 Time limit for filing: an applicant shall submit a return or refund application within 14 days from the date of payment. Applications filed after the deadline may not be accepted; provided that this limitation does not apply to refund applications arising from Operator-side circumstances.

6.5 Where an application concerns several orders, the applications shall be filed separately or consolidated into a single application, with the refund amount for each order stated separately.

6.6 After confirming receipt of a return or refund application, the Operator shall notify the applicant of the acceptance of the case, the case reference and the progress of the review within 5 business days.

6.7 The applicant may supplement or correct the application by the same e-mail or console message; the review period in Chapter 7 applies to the review of supplementary information.

7. Review and Refund Process

This Section governs the possible outcomes of the review, the review and disbursement deadlines, and the supporting requirements for the refund process.

7.1 A return or refund application is reviewed by the Operator under this Policy. The outcome of the review shall be one of the following: "refund approved", "partially approved" or "not approved".

7.2 Review completion deadline: 15 business days.

7.3 Where a refund is approved, the Operator shall complete the refund within 15 business days from the date the refund is approved.

7.4 Where the outcome is "partially approved", the review outcome shall state the scope and amount approved and not approved; where the outcome is "not approved", the reasons shall be stated at the same time.

7.5 Where the Operator rejects a return or refund application, it shall notify the applicant in writing or by any other confirmable means; the applicant may lodge an appeal in accordance with Chapter 13.

7.6 Where multiple applications submitted by the same applicant concern the same facts, the Operator may review them together and notify the outcome in a single consolidated decision.

7.7 Information required for the refund shall be obtained by the Operator from the applicant in accordance with Section 6.3. Where the applicant fails to provide it within 10 calendar days, that application may be withdrawn.

7.8 Records generated in the course of the refund process shall be retained together with the payment records, for the retention period specified in Section 8.7.

8. Refund Method and Calculation of Refund Amounts

This Section governs the method of disbursing refunds, the currency and channel limitations, the tax treatment, and the allocation of transaction charges.

8.1 Refunds shall in principle be returned by the original transaction method to the payment instrument or account used by the User at the time of payment. Where the User does not wish to, or is unable to, receive a refund by the original route, the User shall state so at the time of application, and the refund shall be made by another method agreed by the parties upon confirmation.

8.2 Where payment was made through the NewebPay Payment Module (payment-lshin) or the Taishin Payment Module (payment-taishin), the currency of the refund shall be the same as that of the original payment.

8.3 Where payment was made through NewebPay credit card, ATM, convenience-store payment code, convenience-store barcode or convenience-store collection, the refund process and time limits shall be determined by the rules of NewebPay, and the Platform imposes no separate rules of its own. NewebPay does not provide a refund mechanism for certain channels (ATM, WebATM, convenience-store payment code, convenience-store barcode and convenience-store collection), and the User shall coordinate with NewebPay directly in respect of those channels.

8.4 Tax treatment of refund amounts: the original transaction shall be reversed. Where an invoice has been issued, the original invoice shall be voided or credited; where no invoice has been issued, none shall be issued subsequently. The refund amount is the original tax-inclusive amount, and no additional input tax difference is refunded.

8.5 Allocation of exchange fees, interbank transfer fees and other intermediary charges incurred during the refund: such charges shall be borne by the Operator.

8.6 A refund may not be made by way of service usage rights, account entitlements, coupons or entitlements of equivalent value instead of a monetary refund; provided that the parties have agreed otherwise in writing.

8.7 The Platform's payment, invoice and tax records shall be retained as required by tax law (accounting and tax records shall be retained for 5 years), and records relating to the refund process shall be retained together therewith.

8.8 The basis, method and any deductions applied in calculating a refund shall be stated together with the outcome of the review, so that the User may verify them.

9. Duplicate Payments, Overpayment and Discrepancies

This Section governs the handling of duplicate payments, overpayment and account discrepancies.

9.1 A User who has made a duplicate payment for the same order or the same service may apply for the return of the duplicate amount in accordance with Chapter 6.

9.2 Upon receipt of a duplicate payment, the Platform shall refund the duplicate amount in full within 15 business days, consistent with Section 5.2.3 of the "Terms of Service".

9.3 Where overpayment arises from a system or operational error, the Platform shall refund it in full once verified, and shall complete the disbursement within 15 business days.

9.4 A User who identifies a discrepancy in an amount on a receipt, in reconciliation records or in the Platform's records may submit a correction application in accordance with Section 6.2, attaching verifiable transaction evidence.

9.5 Where the return of a duplicate payment or an overpayment is a matter that the Operator is obliged to handle on its own initiative, the Operator shall notify the User proactively, and the User's application shall not be a precondition.

10. Refunds upon Suspension, Termination and Account Deletion

This Section governs the handling of refunds where services are suspended or terminated, and where an account is deleted.

10.1 Where a service is suspended (system maintenance, system upgrades, handling of information security incidents, interruption of third-party services or force majeure) and the service cannot be provided, the charging treatment for that period is: the billing cycle shall be extended at no charge.

10.2 Where the service is terminated (whether by the Operator or by the User), the refund for the unelapsed portion of the billing cycle shall be calculated pro rata in accordance with Section 3.3; the same applies where the termination is made by the User.

10.3 Where a User applies for the deletion of the account under Section 15.4 of the "Terms of Service", account and operation data shall be cleared within 30 days after the account is deleted; payment, invoice and tax records shall be retained as required by tax law (accounting and tax records shall be retained for 5 years). The refund process is not affected by the deletion of the account, provided that the payee details for the refund are supplied before the account is deleted.

10.4 An account may not be restored once deleted, as further described in Section 15.6 of the "Terms of Service"; a User who mistakenly deletes an account that has been impersonated may lodge an appeal within 30 days, and the Operator shall handle it separately after review.

10.5 After the service is terminated or the account is deleted, the User shall itself complete any necessary removal or amendment of content published under the account, notices already sent and data already submitted.

11. Liquidated Damages, Unpaid Amounts and Deductions

This Section governs the principles for handling liquidated damages and unpaid amounts, and their relationship to the refund process.

11.1 After charging commences, the handling of overdue amounts, the method of calculating liquidated damages and the cap on such damages, any grace period, and whether the Operator may deduct from a User's payment directly are as follows: (1) the grace period is 7 days, and no liquidated damages shall be charged within the grace period; (2) liquidated damages shall be calculated on the overdue amount at 0.05% per day (approximately 18.25% per annum), and shall be capped at 10% of the amount payable and unpaid for that period; (3) where the Operator deducts directly from the User's payment instrument, the User's prior written authorisation is required, and no direct deduction may be made without such authorisation.

11.2 The above matters shall apply from the date on which a Subscription is established and payment is confirmed; before then, no receivable or payable amount arises against a User by way of charges.

11.3 In reviewing a return or refund application, the Operator may not forfeit the refund amount on the ground of a User's earlier late payment or misconduct; provided that where the User has separate unpaid amounts in respect of the same service, the parties may separately agree on an offset. Such offset requires the User's written consent, and the offset amount may not exceed the refund amount.

12. Third-Party Services and Processing of Personal Data

This Section governs the allocation of responsibility for the fees and refunds of third-party services, and the processing of personal data arising from the refund process.

12.1 Certain functions of the Platform rely on third-party services (Google LLC, Zoho, NewebPay, Taishin Bank, LINE, the Ministry of Finance e-invoice platform, and others). The fee schedules, refund policies and processing time limits of those third parties are determined by the third parties themselves, and the Operator does not accept refund requests on their behalf. In respect of refund requests made by a User to a third party, the Operator provides only a contact window and explanatory assistance, and does not handle the refund procedure on the User's behalf.

12.2 Refunds arising from services procured by the User directly from third parties (including Google Workspace subscription fees) fall outside the scope of this Policy. The AI model service provided by the Platform is included in the Subscription fee; see Section 3.9.

12.3 Where third-party charges arise from features enabled by the User, the User shall handle them with the relevant third party; the Operator shall explain the charging situation before the User enables such a feature, and such feature shall be enabled only after the User has given its consent by ticking a box.

12.4 The collection, processing and use of personal data generated in the refund process are subject to the "Privacy Policy".

13. Dispute Resolution

This Section governs negotiation, the appeal procedure and the governing law for return and refund disputes.

13.1 Return and refund disputes shall first be resolved through negotiation in good faith. An applicant who is dissatisfied with the outcome of the review may lodge an appeal within 15 calendar days from the date of notification of the review outcome, by any of the means specified in Section 6.1.

13.2 The Operator shall respond to an appeal within 15 business days, in writing or by any other confirmable means; the outcome of the appeal is final.

13.3 If negotiation fails, either party may bring proceedings before the Taipei District Court of Taiwan, which shall have exclusive jurisdiction as the court of first instance.

13.4 For consumer disputes arising from this Policy, the parties agree to handle them in accordance with Article 47-11 of the Consumer Protection Act, which applies mutatis mutandis the rules of the Code of Civil Procedure on small-claims procedure.

13.5 The formation, validity, interpretation, performance and dispute resolution of this Policy are governed by the laws of the Republic of China (Taiwan).

13.6 In the event of any ambiguity as to the language versions of this Policy, the Traditional Chinese version shall prevail.

14. Amendment and Notification of this Policy

This Section governs the Operator's right to amend this Policy, the manner of notification, and the manner of acceptance by Users.

14.1 The Operator may amend, supplement or revise this Policy from time to time; the revised version takes effect from the date of announcement.

14.2 Notification of amendments shall be made by means of the Platform's official website, console notification, e-mail or any other reasonable means; material amendments shall be notified 14 days before they take effect, and non-material amendments 7 days before they take effect, and shall be published on the website.

14.3 A material change is one that affects the rights and obligations of Users (including changes to refund conditions, calculation methods, application deadlines, and review and disbursement deadlines). Where a User raises an objection before the amendment takes effect, the Operator shall respond within 15 business days; where the amendment is disadvantageous to that User, the Operator shall offer the option of terminating the Subscription without charge of liquidated damages.

14.4 A User who continues to use the Platform after an amendment takes effect shall be deemed to have accepted the amended Policy; a User who does not accept it may cease using the Platform and delete the account in accordance with Section 15.4 of the "Terms of Service".

14.5 The version, effective date and description of changes to this Policy are recorded in the "Version History" at the end of this Policy.

15. Contact Information

This Section governs the means by which a User may contact the Operator in respect of returns and refunds.

15.1 Name of the Operator: Vanilla Technology Co., Ltd. (Chinese: 香草科技有限公司; platform brand: Vanilla SI).

15.2 Place of registration: Taiwan.

15.3 Unified Business Number: 【待補：Taiwan unified business number】.

15.4 The Platform operates purely online and has no physical place of business, and therefore does not state a business address; any change will be announced.

15.5 Principal: as recorded in the company's registration particulars (the name is not stated in this Policy).

15.6 Data protection officer: 吳家豪 (Wu Chia-Hao), designated and disclosed under Article 12 of the Personal Data Protection Act.

15.7 Contact e-mail: service@vaillai.com.

15.8 Contact method: This platform operates online only and does not provide a telephone number. Please contact us by e-mail at service@vaillai.com.

15.9 Official website: https://vaillai.com.

15.10 Platform Console: https://cp.vaillai.com.

15.11 The manner of service for return and refund applications and disputes shall be as specified in Section 6.1.

15.12 The latest version of this Policy shall be made available for reading and download by the Operator at https://vaillai.com.

16. Version History

This Section records the version history and effective dates of this Policy.

This Policy takes effect on 24 October 2026. Where the parties agree on return or refund arrangements at the time a Subscription is formed, such arrangements shall take precedence in accordance with Section 1.6.