Escrow Agreement

This Agreement is between the Depositor (the Sponsor / RFP owner on the relevant Contract), the Beneficiary (the Vendor / awarded bidder on that Contract), and MediChain Global, acting as the neutral escrow operator. This Agreement supplements the Terms of Use and applies once a Contract reaches the “active” status described in Section 7 of the Terms of Use.

• One Escrow record is created per Contract, linked to that Contract's reference number.
• Escrow may be funded in full, milestone-wise, or in a hybrid arrangement, as specified in the Contract.
• Funds held in escrow for a Contract are segregated for that Contract and are never used for any other Contract or purpose.

The Sponsor deposits the agreed amount (the total Contract value, or the first milestone tranche, as applicable) into the Escrow account before the Vendor is notified to begin work. Funds are processed through the platform's integrated payment processor and confirmed by the platform before the corresponding milestone or Contract is marked as funded. Subsequent milestone tranches must be funded before the Vendor is required to begin work on that milestone.

Funds for a milestone are released to the Beneficiary when:

• the Sponsor approves that milestone (triggering automatic release), or
• the Sponsor manually authorizes a partial or full release amount, or
• a Platform admin executes a release pursuant to a dispute-resolution decision under the Dispute Resolution Clause.

Funds are never released unilaterally by the Vendor, and the Vendor has no ability to withdraw or redirect escrowed funds outside this process.

Every release is split automatically: gross − platform_commission − applicable_tax = net_vendor_payout. The commission rate is fixed in the Contract before signing (default 10%, configurable per Contract). Applicable taxes are deducted in accordance with the relevant jurisdiction. The net amount is transferred to the Beneficiary's registered payout instrument (bank account, UPI, or equivalent) via the platform's integrated payment-processing / payout provider. The Beneficiary is responsible for keeping its payout details accurate and for completing any KYC verification required by the payment processor; payouts may be delayed or held by the processor pending such verification.

If a dispute is raised on a Contract, all Escrow funds linked to that Contract are placed on hold automatically. Funds remain locked until the dispute is resolved by an admin under the platform's dispute-resolution procedure. Resolution may result in:

• Hold continuation pending further information
• Partial release to the Beneficiary
• Full release of remaining escrow to the Beneficiary
• Refund of remaining escrow to the Depositor

Refunds of escrowed funds to the Depositor are available only: (a) for amounts not yet released, by mutual written agreement of both parties recorded on the platform, or (b) pursuant to an admin order following a dispute. Amounts already released to the Beneficiary cannot be reclaimed except through the dispute-resolution process, and any reversal of a completed payout is subject to the policies and processing times of the underlying payment processor.

Escrow is denominated and settled in Indian Rupees (INR) unless otherwise specified in the Contract. Standard payment-processor fees (where applicable, e.g. payment gateway charges on funding) may be borne as specified at the time of funding. Payout timing depends on the processing windows of the integrated payment processor and is outside MediChain Global's direct control; we will make commercially reasonable efforts to initiate releases promptly once a release condition under Section 4 is met.

Every funding, release, hold, and refund event is recorded immutably in the platform's audit log, including the amount, timestamp, initiating party, and resulting balances. Both the Depositor and Beneficiary may request a transaction statement for their Contract at any time by contacting legal@medichainglobal.com.

MediChain Global is not liable for delays in funding, release, or payout caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including outages or processing delays of banks, payment gateways, or payout providers, governmental action, or other force-majeure events. We will notify affected parties and resume processing as soon as reasonably possible once the underlying issue is resolved.

This Agreement applies to a Contract's Escrow account from the date the Contract becomes active until all funds have been released, refunded, or otherwise resolved (including through dispute resolution). Sections 6 through 9 survive the closure of a Contract for as long as any related records, holds, or disputes remain open.

MediChain Global's role under this Agreement is administrative and ministerial — we hold and route funds according to the rules above and the instructions validly given under them. We do not adjudicate the underlying scientific, regulatory, or commercial merits of the work being paid for; that responsibility rests with the Depositor and Beneficiary. This Agreement does not expand MediChain Global's liability beyond the limits set out in Section 15 of the Terms of Use.