The India-China relations on the diplomatic front may not look warm but economic front is very hectic with India being one of the major trade partner of China. This had given unprecedented growth to Communist China. From a Communist held economy to a liberal economy the transformation has been magnificent. This has also given a chance for fraudsters coming into play. In this direction the Indian diplomatic missions-directive in China cautioning traders from India that they may end up getting sand, stones, salt, bricks, mud etc in place of items ordered is very relevant. The trade advisory cautions traders and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) planning to do business with China after receiving several complaints. However, the advisory was not put on the website of the Indian missions in China to avoid misunderstanding considering the strain in ties due to differences on issues relating to listing of Pakistan-based militants and groups as terrorists by UN and Beijing’s reluctance to support India’s application to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group. The items to dupe Indian importers included supply of sand, stones, salt, bricks, mud etc in place of chemicals, silicon carbide, aluminium and zinc ingots, shellac, plastics, polymers etc, it said. Other complaints included refusal to send consignments on receipt of payment, quantity dispute, stopping of communications on receipt of advance payment, dispatch of defective machinery and diversion of payment into unassociated bank accounts by third fraudulent parties by hacking into email IDs. Other methods included taking money for sample dispatch and then stopping all correspondences. The Indian exporters should be careful about refusal to make payment after taking control of consignment exported from India on some pretext and refusal to take delivery of the consignment when the market value of the imported item has gone down from the value fixed in agreement.
