Chapter 8 - QUALITY COMPLAINTS AND TRADE DISPUTES - Foreign Trade Procedure 2015-2020 (From 5-12-2017 to 31-3-2023) Revised

CHAPTER 8 QUALITY COMPLAINTS AND TRADE DISPUTES 8.01 Committee on Quality Complaint Trade Dispute (CQCTD) For effective dealing of quality complaints and trade disputes, a Committee on Quality Complaint Trade Dispute (CQCTD) is constituted in the 22 offices of the DGFT. Name of the office, where CQCTD has been constituted and jurisdiction of CQCTD is given in the table below: Sl.No Location of CQCTD Designation of Chairperson Jurisdiction of the CQCTD Northern Zone 1 Zonal Addl. DGFT, CLA, New Delhi Addl. DGFT Zonal DGFT, New Delhi; RA, Moradabad and RA, Dehradun 2 Jt. DGFT, Chandigarh Jt. DGFT RA, Chandigarh; RA, Jammu and RA, Srinagar 3 Jt. DGFT, Panipat Jt. DGFT RA, Panipat 4 Jt. DGFT, Jaipur Jt. DGFT, Jaipur RA, Jaipur 5 Jt. DGFT, Kanpur Jt. DGFT RA, Kanpur 6 Jt. DGFT, Ludhiana Jt. DGFT RA, Ludhiana and RA, Amritsar 7 Jt. DGFT, Varanasi Jt. DGFT RA, Varanasi Western Zone 8 Zonal Addl.DGFT, Mumbai Addl. DGFT Zonal DGFT, Mumbai; RA, Nagpur and RA, Panjim 9 Jt. DGFT, Pune Jt. DGFT RA, Pune 10 Jt. DGFT, Vadodara Jt. DGFT RA, Vadodara and RA, Gandhidham, Kutch 11 Jt. DGFT, Ahmedabad Jt. DGFT RA, Ahmedabad 12 Jt. DGFT, Surat Jt. DGFT RA, Surat 13. Jt. DGFT, Bhopal Jt. DGFT RA, Bhopal and Indore extn.office Eastern Zone 14 Zonal Addl. DGFT, Kolkata Addl. DGFT Zonal DGFT, Kolkata; RA, Patna; RA, Guwahati; RA, Shillong and RA, Raipur, Chhattisgarh 15 Jt. DGFT, Cuttack Jt. DGFT RA, Cuttack 16 Zonal Addl. DGFT, Chennai Addl. DGFT Zonal DGFT, Chennai and RA Puducherry 17 Jt. DGFT, Bangalore Jt. DGFT RA, Bangalore 18 Jt. DGFT, Hyderabad Jt. DGFT RA, Hyderabad 19 Jt. DGFT, Madurai Jt. DGFT RA, Madurai 20 Jt. DGFT, Coimbatore Jt. DGFT RA, Coimbatore 21 Jt. DGFT, Vishakhapatnam Jt. DGFT RA, Vishakhapatnam 22 Jt. DGFT Cochin Dy. DGFT RA, Cochin and RA, Thiruvananathapuram 8.02 Composition of the CQCTD The CQCTD may comprise of the following members: 1. Additional DGFT/Joint DGFT/ (H.O.O): Chairperson 2. Representative of Bureau of India Standard (BIS): Member 3. Representative of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority: Member 4. Representative of the Branch Manager of the concerned Bank: Member 5. Representative of Federation of Indian Exporter Organisation / and OR Export Promotion Council: Member 6. Representative of Export Inspection Agency: Member 7. Nominee of Director of Industries of State Government: Member 8. Nominee of Development Commissioner of MSME: Member 9. Officer as nominated by Chairperson: Member Secretary 10. Any other agency, as co-opted by Chairperson: Member. 1 [ 8.03 Online Filing and Tracking of Quality Complaints/Trade Disputes. (i) A request for investigation and settlement of quality complaint/trade dispute would be filed online by an Indian/foreign entity at www.dgft.gov.in Services File Quality/Trade Grievances fill Online Application Form . Such complaint would be submitted online to the jurisdictional Regional Authorities of DGFT/SEZs as well as to the concerned Indian Mission. On submission, a Unique Reference Number will be generated and sent to the email id of the complainant. The complainant can also upload supporting documents along with the complaint or later on. (ii) Detailed procedure for filing the complaint/dispute has been provided in Trade Notices No.47/2015-20 dated 11.02.2019 and No. 08/2015-20 dated 26.04.2019. The Trade Notices are also available in DGFT website at the following link www.dgft.gov.in Policies Trade Notices. 8.04 Mechanism for resolving the complaints CQCTD in the Regional Authorities of the DGFT/SEZs or the Indian Missions would take up the matter with the concerned entity or authorities in their jurisdiction for resolving the complaint and would update status online on a regular basis. The facility of tracking and viewing status of the complaints/disputes by the complainant has also been provided. 8.05 Choice to pursue other options This mechanism is to provide an additional window for resolution of complaints/disputes to create confidence in business environment in the country. Efforts would be made to resolve the complaints amicably and expeditiously. However this mechanism is only reconciliatory in nature. The aggrieved parties are free to pursue any other course of action including legal action against the erring party. Disputes between the two Indian parties or between the two foreign parties are not covered under this mechanism. ] ********** Notes 1. Substituted vide PUBLIC NOTICE No. 05/2015-2020 dated 26-04-2019 before it was read as 8.03 Format for Lodging Complaint An application for investigation of quality complaints and/or other trade disputes may be filed to the concerned RA, as indicated in paragraph 8.01 above, in the format given in ANF8 of Appendices Aayaat Niryat Forms. Complaint has to be duly supported by self-attested photocopies of relevant documents. Complainant can also file its complaint online on DGFT s website . 8.04 Mechanism for resolving Quality Complaint and Trade Dispute (a) The CQCTD, on receipt of a complaint, from importer abroad, against Indian exporter would call for comments from the firm against whom the complaint has been made. After giving reasonable opportunity of hearing to both sides, CQCTD may arrive at a conclusion to resolve the matter and CQCTD /RA will take action as considered appropriate. (b) RA would forward a copy of the complaint received from Indian importer, against foreign exporter to the concerned Foreign Trade (FT) Division in the Department of Commerce (DoC). FT Division in DoC will take up the complaint with the concerned Embassy/High Commission/ Consulate General in India and with concerned Indian Embassy/ High Commission abroad for effective resolution of the complaint. 8.05 Role of the Nodal Officer (a) The Nodal officer in DGFT, on receipt of complaints from importers abroad, would forward it to the Jurisdictional RA for examination and appropriate action. (b) The Nodal officer would forward copy of the complaint received from Indian importer, against foreign exporter to the concerned Foreign Trade (FT) Division in the Department of Commerce (DoC). FT Division in DoC will take up the complaint with the concerned Embassy/High Commission/ Consulate- General in India and with concerned Indian Embassy/ High Commission abroad for effective resolution of the complaint. (c) Regional Authorities of DGFT will send a consolidated quarterly report in respect of cases received/ referred to it, with details of action taken to the Nodal Officer.