Referral Program — Terms & Conditions

1. Programme Overview

The Creator Scout Referral Program (“Programme”) allows active creator accounts on Creator Scout (“Platform”) to invite other creators using a unique referral code. When an invited creator completes paid deals on the Platform, the referring creator (“Referrer”) earns a commission on the Platform’s marketplace fee for each such deal.

2. Eligibility

• The Programme is open to creator accounts only. Brand accounts are not eligible to refer or earn commissions.
• A creator must have an active, approved account to generate or use a referral code.
• A creator account must remain in good standing (not suspended, banned, or under investigation) to receive commissions.

3. Referral Attribution — Permanent & Locked

• Referral is captured ONLY at signup via manual entry of a referral code in the creator registration form. Attribution cannot be applied after signup under any circumstances.
• If a creator signs up without entering a referral code, they are permanently unattributed and cannot be retrospectively referred.
• Each creator may only be referred by one other creator, and this association is permanent for the lifetime of the account.
• Self-referral (entering your own code) is detected and blocked at the system level.

4. Commission Structure

• Commission is earned only when the referred creator completes a paid deal (order reaches “completed” status and escrow is released).
• Commission is calculated on the Platform’s marketplace fee for each deal, net of any applicable GST. The total order value and GST component are explicitly excluded from the commission base.
• Commission rates are tiered by the total number of completed referred deals across all referred creators in the current calendar month:
  • Tier 1 — 1 to 10 deals: 25%
  • Tier 2 — 11 to 20 deals: 30%
  • Tier 3 — 21 or more deals: 35%
• Tier thresholds apply per transaction at the time of deal completion. Tier assignments are not retroactive.
• Tier counts reset to zero on the first day of every calendar month.

5. Earnings — What Qualifies

• Commission is credited ONLY when a deal reaches “completed” status (brand has approved the deliverable and escrow is released).
• No commission is earned for: account signups, profile approvals, in-progress or submitted orders, or any order that does not reach “completed” status.
• Commission is not earned on deals placed by the Referrer themselves.

6. Clawbacks & Holds

The Platform reserves the right to reverse (claw back) or hold commissions in the following situations:

• Dispute opened on a deal — associated commission is placed “on hold” pending resolution.
• Dispute resolved in brand’s favour (full or partial) — commission is clawed back.
• Dispute resolved in creator’s favour — commission is restored to “cleared” status.
• Order refunded — commission is clawed back.
• Referrer account banned or suspended — all future commissions are blocked; existing uncleared commissions are clawed back.
• Fraud or manipulation — commissions arising from artificially structured, coordinated, or fraudulent deals may be clawed back at the Platform’s sole discretion.

Clawbacks are applied to the ledger balance. The Platform is not liable to pay out amounts that have been clawed back.

7. Payout

• Commissions with status “cleared” are automatically paid out on the last day of every calendar month.
• No manual withdrawal request is required or accepted.
• Payouts are transferred to the bank account registered on your Creator Scout creator profile.
• Payouts are subject to applicable taxes. TDS may be deducted per prevailing Indian tax law.
• Minimum payout threshold: ₹1 (all cleared balances are paid out in full).
• The Platform is not responsible for delays caused by incorrect bank details. It is the creator’s responsibility to maintain accurate bank account information.

8. Lifetime Revenue Share

Referral earnings are lifetime — the Referrer continues to earn commission on every qualifying deal completed by their referred creators for as long as both accounts are active and the Programme exists. This lifetime association is subject to the integrity rules in these Terms.

9. Prohibited Conduct

• Self-referral using any mechanism including multiple accounts.
• Creating fake or duplicate creator accounts to generate artificial referrals.
• Artificially structuring deals, payments, or deliverables to inflate commission earnings.
• Sharing referral codes with the intent to manipulate tier thresholds.
• Any coordinated scheme designed to exploit the Programme.

Violation of these prohibitions may result in immediate account suspension, disqualification from the Programme, and clawback of all commissions earned.

10. Programme Modifications & Termination

• Creator Scout reserves the right to modify, suspend, or terminate the Programme at any time with or without notice.
• Changes to commission rates take effect on the date specified by Creator Scout and apply to deals completing after that date. Existing cleared balances are unaffected.
• Creator Scout may change these Terms at any time. Continued participation constitutes acceptance.

11. No Guarantee of Earnings

Participation in the Programme does not guarantee any minimum level of earnings. Commission income depends entirely on the activities of referred creators and is subject to the conditions described in these Terms. Creator Scout makes no representation or warranty regarding expected commission income.

12. Dispute Resolution

Any dispute arising out of the Programme shall first be submitted to Creator Scout support. The Platform’s decision on commission calculations, clawbacks, and payout amounts is final. The Platform’s records are the authoritative source for all ledger balances and transaction history.

13. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of India. Any disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of India.