Chapter 8 - Quality Complaints and Trade Disputes - Foreign Trade - Handbook of Procedures, 2023

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 20 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 Addl. DGFT, CLA, New Delhi Addl. DGFT CLA, New Delhi 2 Jt. DGFT, Panipat Jt. DGFT RA, Panipat 3 Jt. DGFT, Jaipur Jt. DGFT RA, Jaipur 4 Jt. DGFT, Kanpur Jt. DGFT RA, Kanpur 5 Addl. DGFT, Ludhiana Addl. DGFT RA, Ludhiana; RA, Jammu and RA, Srinagar 6 Jt. DGFT, Varanasi Jt. DGFT RA, Varanasi Western Zone 7 Addl. DGFT, Mumbai Addl. DGFT RA, Mumbai and RA, Nagpur 8 Jt. DGFT, Pune Jt. DGFT RA , Pune 9 Dy. DGFT, Vadodara Jt. DGFT RA, Vadodara 10 Addl. DGFT, Ahmedabad Addl. DGFT RA, Ahmedabad 11 Jt. DGFT, Surat Jt. DGFT RA, Surat 12 Jt. DGFT, Indore Jt. DGFT RA, Indore and RA, Bhopal 13. Jt. DGFT, Rajkot Jt. DGFT RA, Rajkot Eastern Zone 14 Addl. DGFT, Kolkata Addl. DGFT RA, Kolkata and RA, Guwahati Southern Zone 15 Addl. DGFT, Chennai Addl. DGFT RA, Chennai 16 Addl. DGFT, Bangalore Addl. DGFT RA, Bangalore 17. Addl. DGFT, Hyderabad Addl. DGFT RA, Hyderabad 18 Jt. DGFT, Coimbatore Jt. DGFT RA, Coimbatore 19 Dy. DGFT, Vishakhapatnam Dy. DGFT RA, Vishakhapatnam 20 Jt. DGFT Cochin Jt. DGFT RA, Cochin 8.02 Composition of the CQCTD The CQCTD may comprise 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 (APEDA): Member 4. Representative of the Branch Manager of the concerned Bank: Member 5. Representative of Federation of Indian Exporter Organisation (FIEO)/ and OR Export Promotion Council/Commodity Boards: 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. 8.03 Online Filing and Tracking of Quality Complaints/Trade Disputes 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 Quality Complaints Trade Disputes fill Online Application Form . Such complaint would be submitted online to the jurisdictional Regional Authorities of DGFT 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. 8.04 Mechanism for resolving Quality Complaints/Trade Disputes i. CQCTD in the Regional Authorities of the DGFT 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, ii. Wherever necessary, action would be taken against the erring Indian Entity under the Foreign Trade (Development Regulation) Act, 1992, as amended and the Foreign Trade (Regulation) Rules, 1993, as amended, iii. The Indian Missions would take up the issue with authorities concerned for resolving the complaint and would update status online on regular basis, iv. The facility of tracking and viewing status of the complaints/disputes by the complainant has also been provided on the DGFT website. 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 conciliatory in nature. The aggrieved parties are free to pursue any other course of action including legal action against the erring party. Disputes between two Indian parties or between two foreign parties are not covered under this mechanism.