Filing of Quality Complaints/Trade Disputes Relating to International Trade

Exporters need to project a good image of the country abroad to promote India’s exports. Maintaining an enduring relationship with foreign buyers is of utmost importance, and complaints or trade disputes, whenever they arise, need to be settled amicably as soon as possible. For effective dealing of quality complaints and trade disputes, a Committee on Quality Complaint & Trade Dispute (CQCTD) is constituted. The procedure for Filing Quality Complaints/Trade Disputes Relating to International Trade is explained in detail below.

Committees on Quality Complaint & Trade Dispute (CQCTD)

Importers too may have grievances and these too need to be addressed. The government has tried to address this issue through Chapter 8 in the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 by way of constituting committees on Quality Complaint & Trade Dispute (CQCTD). This committee has been constituted in the 23 offices of the DGFT. This committee is composed of representatives of the Bureau of Indian Standards, Export Promotion Councils, Export Inspection Agency, Director of Industries, Development Commissioner of MSMEs, concerned banks, and other members depending on the need, and chaired by the head of the regional DGFT office. How to Start an Export Business

Online Module for Quality Complaints and Trade Disputes (QCTD)

To resolve complaints or trade disputes relating to international trade, an online module for filing and tracking quality complaints/trade disputes has been launched by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, with effect from 11.02.2019.

In this module, the Indian or Foreign Importer/ Exporter filing the complaint will be referred to as ‘Complainant’
Foreign or Indian Importer/ Exporter against whom the complaint is made will be referred to as ‘Complainee’

What kind of complaints can be filed?

Complaints by foreign buyers in respect of the poor quality of the products supplied by exporters from India
Complaints of Indian importers against foreign suppliers in respect of the quality of the products supplied
Complaints of unethical commercial dealings such as
Non-supply/ partial supply of goods after confirmation of the order
Supplying goods other than the ones as agreed upon
non-payment
Non-adherence to delivery schedules, etc.

Pre-Requisites for Filing Complaint / Trade Dispute in QCTD

For filing a complaint about Quality Complaints and Trade Disputes (QCTD), the following are required:

The user profile must be linked with an IEC for Indian Complainant.
Valid PAN number of Indian importer/exporter
Valid Mobile Number and Email ID
Other pre-requisites as mentioned in Chapter 8 of Foreign Trade Policy and Handbook of Procedures may be referred

Note: There are no mandatory documents required to file a complaint under the QCTD module

Application fee

There is no application fee required for filing a complaint under the QCTD module

Eligible Person to File the Complaint

It depends on who is the involved party and against whom they want to complain.

Complaint by Foreign Importer/ Exporter

In case the foreigner is cheated by an Indian exporter or importer, he/she may choose to complain to the respective Indian Embassy or High Commission of India in their country, giving full details of the matter.
The respective commission or embassy shall get in touch with the Commerce Ministry in India, and the DGFT, to get the matter resolved amicably through a committee on quality complaints and trade disputes.
Alternatively, the foreigner may also choose to make an application for investigation of quality complaints and/or other trade disputes directly to the concerned Regional Office of DGFT through the online portal of Quality Complaint & Trade Dispute (CQCTD).

Complaint by Indian Importer/ Exporter

In case an Indian has been cheated by a foreigner who has shipped poor quality products or has failed to make the payments, the applicant can file the complaint against a foreign exporter or importer through the DGFT module.
The local DGFT office shall then take up the matter with the DGFT headquarters and with the concerned foreign trade division of the ministry of commerce.
In turn, the Ministry of Commerce in India will take the matter through diplomatic channels to help settle the complaint as amicably as possible.

Actions can be taken against erring firms from India

The following actions against erring exporters can be taken under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act of India.

Suspension or cancellation of IEC – that is Import Export Code
Refusal to grant or renew a license, certificate, or scrip given to exporter or importer
Suspend or cancel any license, certificate, or scrip issued to the exporter or importer
Imposing a monetary penalty, However, the focus of the committee is more towards dispute resolution amicably and in a friendly way.

Procedure to File Quality Complaints/Trade Disputes

The procedure to file an application on the Online Module for Quality Complaints and Trade Disputes (QCTD) is explained in detail below:

Go to the official webpage of the DGFT website and click on the Services option. From the drop-down list, select the Quality Complaints &Trade Dispute list.

Quality Complaints/Trade Disputes

The link will redirect to the new page, and select Indian Complaint/Foreign Complaint to apply.

Quality Complaints/Trade Disputes

By login into the DGFT portal, the application form will display. Provide all mandatory details and Upload documents related to the quality complaint/trade dispute.

Quality Complaints/Trade Disputes

In the case of Foreign Complainant select the jurisdictional Regional Authority of DGFT/SEZ (this jurisdiction should be ascertained concerning the address of the Indian entity) as per Appendix 1 of Handbook of Procedures In the case of Indian Complainant, Select jurisdictional Indian Mission (this jurisdiction should be ascertained concerning the address of foreign entity).
On submission, a Unique Reference Number (URN) starting with ‘Q’ will be generated and sent to the email id of the complainant.
Once your complaint reaches DGFT, further investigation and action will be taken by the committee and you will be posted on the developments. In case further information is needed in the matter, the committee will correspond with you till the matter is settled amicably.
The complainant, at a future date, can also provide additional material/correspondence to the Regional Authority/SEZ and Indian Mission. While making any future correspondence, the URN must be quoted invariably in the subject header of the email.
To view the status of the application, a link will send to the complainant, using that applicant check the status at the DGFT site.

Back to Learn

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Filing Quality Complaints Trade Disputes International Trade.

A foreign buyer/importer can file a complaint against an Indian exporter in two ways. First, they can approach the Indian Embassy or High Commission in their country, providing full details of the matter, which will then be forwarded to the Indian Ministry of Commerce and DGFT. Alternatively, they can directly file an application through the online portal of Quality Complaint & Trade Dispute (QCTD) to the concerned Regional Office of DGFT.

The QCTD module allows filing complaints related to poor quality of products supplied by exporters, unethical commercial dealings like non-supply/partial supply of goods after order confirmation, supplying goods different from agreed upon, non-payment, non-adherence to delivery schedules, and other similar issues.

No, there is no application fee required for filing a complaint under the QCTD module.

For an Indian exporter/importer to file a complaint through the QCTD module, their user profile must be linked with an IEC (Import Export Code), they must have a valid PAN number, and a valid mobile number and email ID.

If an Indian exporter/importer is found to be at fault, the DGFT can take actions like suspension or cancellation of their IEC, refusal to grant or renew licenses/certificates/scrips, suspension or cancellation of existing licenses/certificates/scrips, and imposing monetary penalties.

The CQCTD, constituted in 23 offices of the DGFT, aims to resolve quality complaints and trade disputes amicably. It comprises representatives from various organizations, including the Bureau of Indian Standards, Export Promotion Councils, Export Inspection Agency, and others, and is chaired by the head of the regional DGFT office.

An Indian exporter/importer can file a complaint against a foreign party through the QCTD module by selecting the appropriate "Indian Complainant" option on the DGFT website. They need to provide details of the foreign entity and the issue, and select the jurisdictional Indian Mission based on the foreign entity's address.

To file a complaint through the QCTD module, one needs to log in to the DGFT portal, provide mandatory details, upload relevant documents, and select the jurisdictional Regional Authority (for foreign complainants) or Indian Mission (for Indian complainants). Upon submission, a Unique Reference Number (URN) will be generated for tracking the complaint.

Yes, the complainant can provide additional material or correspondence to the Regional Authority/SEZ and Indian Mission at a later date, quoting the Unique Reference Number (URN) in the email subject header.

After filing a complaint through the QCTD module, the complainant will receive a link to check the status of their application on the DGFT website, using the Unique Reference Number (URN) generated during the submission.