Uttar Pradesh traders on Friday (August 14, 2026) demanded regulatory mechanism for the security of foreign trade, amid growing cases of fraud.
They demanded a regulatory body for the security of foreign trade which can provide assistance in cases involving fraud, payment defaults, and cross-border commercial disputes.
“I suffered a loss of over ₹25 lakhs by a Bangladesh based client. It is not the first setback faced by me, common issue faced by us with foreign clients are default in payments, container theft at ports and payment stuck in foreign banks and the foreign customer goes into hiding. India’s exports stood at about $860 billion and $979 billion in imports, roughly 50% in value of GDP. Millions of importers are safeguarded only by few tools, most commonly ECGC or Bank Letter of Credit (L.C.). Some customers buy on credit which is backed by Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC), which provides export credit insurance support to Indian exporters and banks. However, in terms of payment failures, ECGC takes help from foreign lawyers and then tries to recover from the court. However, in some cases, the customer goes into hiding and, in such cases, the entire payment fails. Also, in case of failure of payment, we fail to collect full loss from present ECGC mechanism, hence we demand Regulatory body for the Security of Foreign Trade which can provide assistance in cases involving fraud, payment defaults, and cross-border commercial disputes. A dedicated department should initially be established in all major states,” said Samir Qaiym, a trader from Kanpur.
Shobhit Mehrotra, a brass trader from Moradabad who supports the idea said the proposed idea of Regulatory body for the Security of Foreign Trade should have offices in major exporting states to deal with these types of fraud. “They can connect to the local embassy followed by connecting to law officers and local intelligence to hunt those people down who have been doing frauds,” added Mr. Mehrotra, who faced similar payment defaults by foreign client twice in the last five years. He added an import and export credit score can be used to verify traders involved in import and export.
Vineet Singh, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) rank officer with U.P. police supported the idea and said such a framework should consist of professionals from relevant fields, including: Legal experts and officer’s familiar with commercial and international law. “It can also include Police and intelligence officers with experience in fraud investigation and enforcement. Representatives or designated officers from the Ministry of External Affairs or the relevant external-affairs authorities. Other officials with expertise in international trade, banking, insurance and cross-border transactions. The department should maintain direct coordination with the Indian embassy/high commission in the relevant foreign country, as well as local law-enforcement authorities, police officers and legal professionals,” said Mr. Singh.
The U.P. officer pushed for a two-way cooperation. “The idea should operate on a two-way basis. If a foreign company or individual faces fraud or a serious commercial dispute involving an Indian businessperson, the relevant foreign authorities should also be able to approach this department through their embassy or designated diplomatic channels. The department could then coordinate with the appropriate Indian legal, police and regulatory authorities to investigate and resolve the matter. This two-way mechanism would improve trust, accountability and confidence in international trade, while also providing legitimate businesses with a structured system for dealing with cross-border fraud and commercial disputes,” said Mr. Singh.
Published – August 15, 2026 05:17 am IST
