Your overseas buyer hasn't paid. Start here.

By Gaurav Gupta, Founder & CEO, GGA India

Last reviewed: 9 November 2026

Direct answer. An unpaid export invoice runs on four clocks at once: the buyer, ECGC or your credit insurer, your AD bank and EDPMS (nine months from shipment to realise goods exports, from 1 October 2026), and the legal deadlines in the buyer's country. Date all four this week; missing one can cost the claim, the money or your export terms.

GGA India at a glance — for Indian exporters

• GGA India Private Limited (Gurugram, since 2002) runs a Global Receivables Desk for Indian exporters owed by overseas buyers.
• It keeps four clocks in step: the buyer, ECGC or the credit insurer, the AD bank and EDPMS, and the legal deadlines in the buyer's country.
• Buyer-country desks include the USA, UAE, UK, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, China, Japan and seven more.
• Cases from USD 20,000; commission only on amounts actually recovered. Your buyer pays you directly — GGA never holds your money.

What is probably going on

Behind every unpaid export bill is one of four causes, and each needs action in a different place.

• Process-blocked. A document, bank detail or invoice-to-bill-of-lading mismatch stops the remittance. If the buyer says it tried to pay, fix it through banks.
• Disputed. A quality, quantity or delay complaint holds the whole invoice. If a written complaint exists, demand the undisputed part.
• Promise-led. The buyer accepts the debt but pays a distant supplier last. If the date keeps moving, a local demand with a date and a consequence changes behaviour.
• Genuine credit risk. The buyer is failing or insolvent. If other suppliers are unpaid, file in its insolvency on time.

The file is usually split three ways: export documentation files ECGC declarations, sales talks to the buyer, and the AD bank tracks the shipping bill. Nobody sees all four clocks.

The pattern behind it. Whatever the cause, an unpaid export bill is revenue sold but not collected, held up outside by the buyer and inside by a split file whose four clocks have no single owner. The Global Receivables Desk answers that with an Invoice Lifecycle Owner: one owner per bill, from submission to cash. The GGA model explains the approach.

Your situation

Nine guides cover the situations Indian exporters face most; pick the one that matches your file.

Exhibit 1: Guides by situation

Your buyer's country

Recovery routes, limitation periods and insolvency rules differ by country.

See the buyer-country desks for the USA, UAE, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, China, Japan, Australia, Canada and South Africa, and the full exporter lifecycle guide.

What GGA would do

GGA dates the four clocks first, finds the buyer's real reason second, and acts in the buyer's country only on your approval.

1. Days 1–3: Clock sheet. You receive one page per bill: ECGC declaration and notice dates, the nine-month AD-bank date, the one-year line and the legal deadline in the buyer's country.
2. Week 1: Cause per buyer. You receive a note naming the cause, with the evidence behind it, and any ECGC or bank letter due, drafted for your signature.
3. Weeks 2–4: Recovery Position Report. For bills from USD 20,000, a local partner establishes the buyer's status, assets and route. You receive a Foreign Debtor Recovery Position Report.
4. Month 2: Local demand. On your approval, a demand in the buyer's language through the Global Receivables Desk. You receive every letter and reply.
5. Month 3 onwards: Plan, claim support or proceedings. Instalments tracked, approved escalations run. If insured, ECGC decides the claim; GGA runs the recovery, the evidence and the AD-bank and EDPMS file. You receive a monthly status report.

Cases from USD 20,000; file-opening fee and success commission agreed in writing before recovery begins, commission only on amounts actually recovered. The Foreign Debtor Recovery Position Report starts from USD 1,500 per receivable and is credited against success commission actually earned if you then instruct us.

What we need from you

Four items from your inbox are enough for a first view.

To start (enough for a first view by email):

• Buyer's legal name, country, amount and due date
• Commercial invoice and bill of lading or airway bill
• The buyer's last written reply, or your last unanswered email
• ECGC policy number, if insured

To act:

• Contract or purchase order the buyer accepted
• Customs shipping bill and EDPMS outstanding statement from your AD bank
• ECGC overdue declarations, event notices and credit-limit letter
• All buyer correspondence since shipment, including any complaint
• Any refusal notice, LC, or shipping line notice that applies to your situation

Missing some of these? Send what you have — telling you what is missing is part of the first reply.

How you stay in control

You sign every letter to ECGC and your bank, and approve every step that changes the debt.

• Your buyer pays into your account, so the remittance links to its shipping bill. GGA never receives or holds your money.
• Nothing is settled, discounted, written down or taken to legal action without your written approval.
• GGA manages the communication with your customers; escalation steps are discussed with you.
• One named GGA owner per buyer. You see every action: monthly report to your CEO and CFO, a fortnightly review call, and an immediate flash report when a risk appears.
• Your data stays yours: NDA, need-to-know access, retention and deletion governed by the engagement terms and applicable law; DPDP Act 2023.
• Terms are fixed in writing before recovery begins; a Recovery Position Report involves no work or fee before your written approval.
• Submissions to ECGC and requests to your AD bank go in your name. GGA drafts; you decide what is sent.

Send us one unpaid invoice. Email the buyer name, country, amount, invoice date and whatever you have from the "To start" list to gg@ggaindia.co.in. Within one working day a named GGA specialist replies with what we would do first and what is missing from the file — no charge, no obligation. Want an independent view first? Ask for a Foreign Debtor Recovery Position Report.

A different situation? Indian customer not paying → Customer not paying your invoice · Foreign company owed by an Indian importer → India Desk

Frequently asked questions

First steps, GGA's role with ECGC, cost and control.

What is the first thing to do when an overseas buyer stops paying?

Put the default in writing, stop further shipments, and if you hold an ECGC policy include the bill in the monthly overdue declaration due by the 15th. Then brief your AD bank, because the nine-month realisation clock keeps running.

Does GGA file ECGC claims?

No. ECGC decides every claim, and the claim goes in your name. GGA runs the work around it: the overdue and event calendar, recovery against the buyer through local partners, the evidence ECGC asks for, and the AD-bank and EDPMS file.

What does overseas recovery cost?

Cases start from USD 20,000. A file-opening fee and success commission are agreed in writing before recovery begins, and commission is charged only on amounts actually recovered.

If GGA contacts my buyer, who decides what happens?

You do. GGA manages the communication with the buyer and discusses every escalation step with you. No discount, extension, settlement or legal step happens without your written approval.

Sources

The clocks on this page come from RBI regulation and ECGC policy wording.

• RBI — Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026 (as amended)
• ECGC — Shipments Comprehensive Risks Policy wording

This page summarises the position as at 9 November 2026. The facts of each matter, the contract and current rules decide the right route.