This Referral policy applies to users (referred to as “user”, “users'', “your'' or “you”) who are participating in upGrad’s Referral Scheme (the “Scheme”). Your participation in the Scheme is deemed if (a) you share your referral code with others by any means whatsoever, or (b) you use another’s referral code in your application. By participating in this Scheme, you acknowledge and agree to be bound by all of the terms and conditions of this referral policy (“Policy”), which are in addition to and subject to upGrad’s “Terms of Use” and “Privacy Policy'' available on the Platform. upGrad offers curated and specially designed online higher education and industry-relevant diploma, certification programs and career assistance services (“Program”). By accepting this Referral Policy, you consent, agree and undertake to abide, be bound to the terms of this Referral Policy. If you do not agree to this Policy, please do not participate in the Scheme. upGrad reserves the right to modify or terminate the Scheme, in whole or in part, at any time and in any manner.

“Referrer” means a person who refers someone for upGrad course

“Enrolled Referrer” means an upGrad user who has paid the full amount for an upGrad Program and making the reference. For clarity, this excludes users enrolled in programs with KnowledgeHut, TalentEdge, or provided by upGrad in collaboration with Microsoft. Such referrers may be eligible only for monetary referral benefits up to INR 10,000 (Rupees Ten Thousand only) or such other amount / referral benefits as may be specified by upGrad from time to time. upGrad reserves the right to modify, substitute, or withdraw such referral benefits, in whole or in part, at its sole discretion and without prior notice.

“Not Enrolled Referrer” means a non upGrad user who is making the reference

“Referral Code” is the code generated when the Referrer signs up on the upGrad platform or otherwise in a manner decided by upGrad.

“Referee” The friend who enrolls for the first time in an upGrad program through the Referrer’s reference, using a valid Referral Code.

The Referrer must share her/his Referral Code with the Referee, which in turn must be used/applied by the Referee in his/her application process at upGrad for enrollment to a program. It is the responsibility of the Referrer andReferee solely to make sure that the Referral Code is used before the application submission. upGrad shall not accept the Referral Code any time after the application submission by a Referee. Additionally, the Referee must pay the entire fee amount towards the program chosen by them for the Referral to be considered complete. 

The amount of Reward receivable is dependent on the status of the Referrer and the Referee at the time when such Reward is to be disbursed.

• It is the responsibility of the Referrer and Referee, to be sure that the Referral Code is applied correctly before or at the time of application submission.
• Referral Code applied at the application submission stage will be valid.
• As per upGrad's referral policy, any instance of non-compliance constitutes a breach. Consequently, all other referrals associated with the account are rendered ineligible for any referral payouts
• In line with our refund policy, no refunds or course cancellations are permitted post-cohort commencement. If a referee initiates or requests a refund, the corresponding referral becomes ineligible for any payout

• Refer 2 or more friends and earn Extra INR 10,000 + up to INR 1,60,000.
• Ensure your friends apply your referral code and pay the block fees between 5th to 15th December 2025, for a course with a minimum fee of ₹90,000.
• Your friend must make the full payment by 31st Dec 2025.
• Do not publicly share your referral code on social media or Google.

• The Not Enrolled Referrer shall receive an amount upto 10K per referral, subject to TDS, within thirty (30) working days from the commencement date of the cohort of Friend’s Program, upto a maximum of five (5) referrals in a quarter. 
• The Referee’s Reward shall be the fee waiver (if applicable) on the Program fees and shall be determined on the basis of the Program which the Referee has registered and paid for. The fee waiver shall be applied to the balance payment stage and not at the time of block payment.

• The Reward receivable by the Enrolled Referrer or Expert, as the case may be, shall be determined on the basis of the Program which the Referee has registered and paid for.  For example, if the Enrolled Referrer has enrolled for EPGP (Executive Post Graduation Program) in Data Science Programs and the Referee has enrolled for Advanced Certificate in Digital Marketing, the Enrolled Referrer shall be eligible for a Reward attributable to the Advanced Certificate in Digital Marketing and Communication Program mentioned here
• The Referee’s Reward shall be a fee waiver(If applicable) on the Program fees, which shall be applied at the balance payment stage, and not at the time of block payment/caution amount payment.
• The Enrolled Referrer or the Expert, as the case may be, will receive the Reward in the form of a cash payout, after deducting TDS as per applicable laws.
• The Enrolled Referrer or the Expert, as the case may be, shall receive the referral benefits, subject to TDS, in a split of first 50% within 7 working days from the date of full payment of Program fees  by Referee and the rest 50% would be released within 7-10 working days post Referee’s program batch commencement date or once upGrad receives the login list from the enrolled university.
• The Enrolled Referrer who earns cash payout as a referral reward from upGrad needs to submit their PAN Account details to get the payment processed.  PAN details form will be shared to the Enrolled Referrer by referral@upgrad.com to fill the details & submit to upGrad.
• All these benefits are applicable only for learners/experts & will not be applicable in case the learner is an upGrad Employee

Any Reward in the form of a fee waiver shall be calculated on the Program fees plus all applicable taxes. We have provided an example below:

Program Fees: INR 1,00,000

Taxes @18%: INR 18,000

Total: INR 1,18,000

Application of Reward: (-) INR 10,000

Grand Total payable post Reward: INR 1,08,000

• upGrad learner who enrolls again for another program, shall be eligible for above mentioned alumni discount of the program in which the learner is enrolling. In this case the learner cannot use any referral code and will not be eligible for any referral reward.
• The Enrolled Referrer’s batch should also have commenced before the payout window if he/she is an enrolled learner himself/herself in order to be eligible for the Enrolled Referrer benefits.
• The benefits under this Referral Policy cannot be clubbed with any other scholarship/fee waiver or other benefits. If the referee has already availed of another benefit, the benefits of this Referral Policy shall not apply. For further clarity, please drop an email to referral@upgrad.com.
• In case of cash payments, you, shall receive the referral benefits, subject to TDS, in a split of first 50% within 7 working days from the date of full payment towards program fee made by the Referee and the rest 50% would be released within 7-10 working days post Referee’s batch commencement date or once upGrad receives the login list from the enrolled university. 
• If the batch commencement date is the same as the date of full payment of program fee then the referral benefit will be paid out 100% to the Enrolled Referrer.
• The team will be reaching out for the PAN OR bank details once the final login is issued to the Referee along with receipt of full payment of the program fee.
• If the Enrolled Referrer does not avail referral benefit by sharing PAN or bank details within 3 months from the date of Referee’s batch commencement, the referrer benefit will lapse and become void.
• Referee benefits are pre-applied at the time of fee payment except for programs from the following university - IIT- Delhi  where the benefits are processed in the form of a cashback.
• Both the Referee and Referrer shall be eligible for any referral benefit, only if the Referral code is used at the time of sign-up or at the time of application submission with upGrad, before blocking the seats."
• The referrer needs to submit his/her PAN/Bank details only. Any third parties' PAN or bank account details cannot be accepted to avail referral reward.
• As per the new Section, 206 AB inserted in the Income Tax Act by the Finance Act 2021, if you are a 'specified person' as prescribed under section 206AB, the tax deducted at source shall be at  - (a) 5% or (b) twice the rate applicable to referral fees;  whichever is higher. (TAT for TDS certificate would be 45 days after QTR end (1,2 & 3 QTR) for 4th QTR (JFM) it would 70 days)

"specified person" means a person who has not filed the returns of income for both of the two assessment years relevant to the two previous years immediately prior to the previous year in which tax is required to be deducted, for which the time limit of filing return of income under sub-section (1) of section 139 has expired; and the aggregate of tax deducted at source and tax collected at source in his case is rupees fifty thousand or more in each of these two previous years

Income tax department has facilitated a link where businesses can check if any person is a 'specified person' and thereby deduct the relevant taxes to comply with the provisions of Section 206 AB