This is a common caveat that most people are not aware of. Here is the explanation for this issue.
In any domain transfer process there are three entities involved -
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Domain Owner (Registrant)
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Gaining (New) Registrar
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Losing (Current) Registrar
Typically a Domain Name is transferred sometime before its expiry in order to renew it with the Gaining Registrar. This results in ONE YEAR getting added to the domain name. The charges for this one year are collected by the Gaining Registrar. There is however a case when it seems as if this one year is not added during the transfer process. You need to understand this so that you do not make the mistake.
Basically if a Domain Name Expires, it is not deleted immediately. The Registrar of the domain name must explicitly delete the name within 45 days or else it is deemed to have been renewed. This period of 45 days is called the Auto Renew period. If during these 45 days the Registrant Renews the Domain Name with the Losing Registrar and then TRANSFERS the name to a new Gaining Registrar, then in that case the Domain Name WILL lose the year that was added with the Losing Registrar. Lets take an example.
Suppose a domain name expires on 1st Jan 2001. Lets also suppose currently this domain is with Registrar A
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On 3rd Jan 2001 (after the domain has expired) you renew the domain with Registrar A. The domain has already expired, but not yet deleted, so you can safely renew it with Registrar A. This will make the expiry date as 1st Jan 2002
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Now on 10th Jan 2001 if you transfer this domain name to Registrar B this is what will happen
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The transfer will add one year to the domain name (expiry date will be 1st Jan 2003)
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If there has been any renewals in the 45 day auto-renew period those years will be removed (expiry date will be reset to 1st Jan 2002)
The net effect therefore will be - that no year gets added to the transferred domain. It is however important to note that the year during TRANSFER is ACTUALLY ADDED. The reason why the expiry date does not reflect it is that the year added in renewal with the LOSING REGISTRAR is credited BACK to the Losing Registrar by the Registry.
You can do the following things in this situation
1. MOST IMPORTANTLY. Do not Transfer a name from one Registrar to another during the 45 day auto-renew period immediately after the expiry date of the domain name. Therefore, if a domain name expires on 1st Jan 2001, do not transfer it to another Registrar until 15th Feb 2001.
2. If you have already done this mistake however, the only recourse is to obtain a refund from the Losing Registrar for the renewal you have paid for with them. There is little scope of getting it considering that most Registrars may not understand this issue or may not have a refund policy.