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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.

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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.

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

• 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.

• 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.