In short. In a DIAC arbitration, your business dispute is decided by an arbitrator appointed through the Delhi International Arbitration Centre, which sits on the Delhi High Court campus. You'll end up there if your contract names DIAC, or if the Delhi High Court has sent your dispute there. Most cases take roughly one and a half to two and a half years from request to award. Fees are paid upfront. Start by pulling out the contract, the arbitration clause and every notice exchanged, and get the claim or defence looked at before a deadline slips past.
Is this your situation?
- You dug out the contract last night. Clause 18 says disputes go to arbitration under the DIAC rules.
- Your lawyer called from the Delhi High Court. The Section 11 petition was allowed, and the matter's been sent to DIAC.
- A Request for Arbitration from DIAC landed on your desk on Monday, and the 30 days started running that day.
- Your contractor still owes you the last two running bills, and the agreement says arbitration in Delhi, not a suit.
- The other side has written to the bank to encash your guarantee. There's no tribunal yet.
- DIAC wants a fee deposit. You don't know what it covers, or what happens when the other party flatly refuses to pay its half.
- The award is out. Either you need to challenge it, or you won and three months later you still haven't seen a rupee.
What DIAC is, and what we do there
The Delhi International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) was set up by the Delhi High Court. It began working in 2009 and runs from the High Court campus at Shershah Road, New Delhi, under the High Court's supervision. DIAC doesn't decide your dispute. It administers it. That means it receives the Request for Arbitration, fixes and collects fees, appoints arbitrators from its panel when the two sides can't agree, gives you hearing rooms, decides challenges to arbitrators and keeps the record. The panel has retired judges, senior advocates, technical people and other professionals on it. The current panel and address are on the DIAC website.
We act for one party inside that system. If you're the claimant, our work is to turn a commercial grievance into a Request for Arbitration and a Statement of Claim DIAC will accept, get the tribunal formed, obtain interim relief where it's needed, prove the claim and then enforce the award. If you're the respondent, it's different. We first ask whether the claim belongs in arbitration at all. Then we meet the 30-day response window, take limitation and jurisdiction points at the right moment, and file a defence and any counter claim.
The procedure comes from the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (the Act). Inside DIAC, the DIAC (Arbitration Proceedings) Rules, 2023 apply too, and fees are governed by the DIAC (Administrative Costs and Arbitrators' Fees) Rules, 2018. This page walks through the whole route. Every stage has its own detailed guide, linked where it comes up.
How a contract or a court order lands you at DIAC
Most cases come in through one of four doors. The first is a clause in your contract naming DIAC or its rules. A valid clause binds you under Section 7 of the Act, and even an exchange of emails recording the agreement can count as an arbitration agreement in writing. Drafting points are covered in our guide on the DIAC arbitration clause.
Door two is a court order. Suppose the clause provides for arbitration but nobody can agree on the arbitrator. Either side can then petition under Section 11 of the Act, and the Delhi High Court often disposes of these petitions by sending the parties to DIAC. Since In re Interplay (seven judges, 2023) and SBI General Insurance v. Krish Spinning (2024), the referral court looks only at whether an arbitration agreement exists, on a first look. Limitation and scope go to the arbitrator. More in our guide on Section 11 references to DIAC.
The third door is a suit. If someone sues you on a contract that has an arbitration clause, you can apply under Section 8 of the Act before your first statement on the substance of the dispute, and the court must refer the parties to arbitration. Door four is plain consent after the dispute has arisen. Parties whose contract says nothing about DIAC can sign a memorandum agreeing to it. The 2023 Rules even attach a model.
Has your contract let one side alone pick the sole arbitrator? That clause is weak now. The Supreme Court in TRF (2017) and Perkins Eastman (2019) said a party with an interest in the outcome can't appoint unilaterally, and the Constitution Bench in Central Organisation for Railway Electrification v. ECI-SPIC-SMO-MCML (2024) held that such clauses offend equality between the parties. These clauses keep reaching the Delhi High Court under Section 11. From there, they often go to DIAC.
DIAC arbitration or a commercial court suit?
With a valid arbitration clause in your contract, you don't really get to choose. If the other side applies under Section 8 in time, the court will send the dispute to arbitration. You have a real choice only where there's no clause, where the clause is shaky, or where both sides agree to arbitrate after the fight starts. The comparison is laid out in our guide on DIAC arbitration or a commercial suit.
Some differences matter to almost every business. Arbitration doesn't need pre-institution mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, because that rule is for suits. A suit costs you ad valorem court fee once. Arbitration means paying the arbitrator and the institution in advance, usually half each. Under the 2023 Rules an award is generally confidential, whereas a suit is public. And the grounds to challenge an award are narrow, so you really get one full hearing on the facts. One.
When a new dispute with an arbitration clause reaches Advocate B.K. Singh, his first question isn't whether arbitration beats court. It's whether the clause, exactly as written, will survive a challenge, and which institution or court it points to. We've watched disputes lose three to six months fighting over a badly drafted clause. Nobody looked at the money in that time.
A DIAC arbitration, stage by stage
This is how a domestic commercial arbitration at DIAC usually goes. The tribunal fixes the exact timetable at the first procedural hearing, and our DIAC arbitration process guide explains each stage in more depth.
Notice invoking arbitration
The claimant sends a notice invoking the arbitration clause and setting out the claim. Section 21 of the Act says arbitration commences on the day the respondent receives it. For limitation, that date is everything.
Request for Arbitration at DIAC
The claimant files a Request under Rule 4 of the 2023 Rules. It must attach the clause and the contract, state the claim with amounts, make proposals about the tribunal and show proof of service on the respondent. Administrative charges are paid on filing. An incomplete Request counts as no Request at all.
Response within 30 days
Rule 5.1 gives the respondent 30 days from receiving the Request to file its Response, with its defence and any counter claim. No Response? The respondent is then presumed to have agreed to arbitrate at DIAC.
Forming the tribunal
For a sole arbitrator, each side lists five names from the DIAC panel and a name common to both lists gets appointed. If there isn't one, the DIAC Chairperson appoints. For three arbitrators, each side nominates one, and those two pick the presiding arbitrator within 21 days. Every arbitrator files a disclosure under Section 12 of the Act.
Fee deposits
DIAC fixes the arbitrators' fees and administrative costs on the sum in dispute and tells each side what to deposit. It's normally half each. If a deposit isn't made within 30 days of falling due, Rule 33.5 lets the claim or counter claim concerned be terminated.
First procedural hearing
The tribunal meets the parties, usually online, and sets dates for pleadings, documents and evidence. Section 23(4) of the Act expects pleadings to be done within six months of the arbitrator's appointment.
Pleadings, documents, issues
Each side files its pleading with all the documents it relies on. Documents are admitted or denied, and the tribunal frames issues. Jurisdiction objections under Section 16 usually get decided at this point.
Evidence, arguments, award
Witnesses give evidence on affidavit and face cross-examination. Then arguments. Under Section 29A the award is due within 12 months of pleadings being completed. Both sides can agree to six months more, and anything beyond that needs the court.
Challenge or enforcement
The losing side can challenge the award under Section 34 within three months of receiving it, plus up to 30 days if it shows sufficient cause. If it doesn't, the award is enforced like a decree under Section 36.
How long each DIAC stage takes, and what it costs
| Stage | How long it usually takes | What you pay at this stage (lawyer fees not included) |
|---|---|---|
| Notice invoking arbitration, and the reply | 15 to 30 days | Only drafting and sending; DIAC charges nothing yet |
| Request for Arbitration and Response | Roughly 30 to 45 days | Each side pays an administrative cost on a scale tied to the sum in dispute |
| Forming the tribunal | 3 to 8 weeks, more if someone challenges an arbitrator | DIAC directs deposits towards the arbitrators' fee, normally half from each side |
| Pleadings and documents | 4 to 6 months (Section 23(4) aims for 6 months from appointment) | More deposits if the claim is amended or a counter claim comes in |
| Evidence | 4 to 10 months, depending on how many witnesses | Hearing room charges and sundry expenses fixed by the Coordinator |
| Final arguments and award | 2 to 6 months; the award is due within 12 months of pleadings closing, plus 6 months if both agree | The rest of the arbitrator's fee is released stage by stage |
| Section 34 challenge | Filed within 3 months plus up to 30 days; the hearing often takes 1 to 2 years | Court fee on the petition under the Delhi schedule; the court may make a stay depend on a deposit |
| Execution under Section 36 | Usually 6 months to a year, if the assets can be traced | Court fee and process fee on the execution petition, under that state's schedule |
DIAC fees and deposits: what to budget for
You pay DIAC for two things. One is an administrative cost, paid by each side, on a scale that goes up with the sum in dispute. The other is the arbitrator's fee, set by a schedule tied to the sum in dispute. A sole arbitrator gets an addition, each member of a three-member tribunal is paid on the same scale, and there's an overall ceiling per arbitrator. Rule 3(ii) of the 2018 fee rules assesses the fee on the claim and counter claim added together, and under Rule 33 of the 2023 Rules each side normally deposits half. DIAC publishes the schedules and has an online calculator. Check the current figures before you budget. Our guide on DIAC arbitration fees has the full breakdown, with a worked example.
The fee problem we see most is a respondent that won't pay its half. DIAC can't make it pay. In Samsung India Electronics Pvt Ltd v. Delhi International Arbitration Centre (W.P.(C) 3440/2026, 18 March 2026), the Delhi High Court upheld the DIAC Co-ordinator's order assessing the claim and counter claim separately, where the respondent had refused to pay its share on the main claim. The court noted that the Centre's remedy is to terminate the unfunded claim or counter claim under Rule 33.5. So in practice, a claimant who wants the case to move often pays the other side's share too. Then it asks the tribunal to account for that in the award. More in our guide on what to do when the other side won't pay DIAC fees.
For claimants: a claim the tribunal can actually allow
A good DIAC claim is built before the Request goes in. Your notice invoking arbitration should list every head of claim you might press later, because limitation for each one runs from its own cause of action. Section 43 of the Act applies the Limitation Act, 1963 to arbitrations. For most money claims that's three years. And since Section 21 fixes commencement on receipt of the notice, a notice sent in time can rescue a claim that would otherwise be dead by the time the tribunal is formed.
Get the number right. DIAC fees are worked out on the amount you claim. Pump it up and your fees go up, and you invite an adverse costs order. Pitch it too low and you cap what you can recover, unless you amend later and pay more. Plead interest separately: at the contract rate if there is one, otherwise under Section 31(7) of the Act.
Then prove it on paper. Email chains, ledger extracts and other electronic records should carry a certificate under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. It saves a fight over proof later. The filing itself is covered in our guide on how to start a DIAC arbitration.
For respondents: defence, counter claim and jurisdiction
Rule 5.1 gives a respondent 30 days from receiving the Request to file its Response. Miss it and you don't lose the case. But you're presumed to accept DIAC, and you lose your say in who sits on the tribunal. The Response is where you nominate your arbitrator or give your five names, take any objection to jurisdiction and flag a counter claim.
Jurisdiction objections go to the tribunal under Section 16 of the Act. Is there a valid arbitration agreement? Does this dispute fall inside it? Is the claim time-barred? Section 16(2) says the plea must be raised no later than the Statement of Defence. If the tribunal turns it down, the arbitration carries on, and you can raise the point again under Section 34 once the award is out. A counter claim gets its own fee assessment. After the Samsung decision, it also carries its own consequences if one side refuses to pay.
In defence files that come to Advocate B.K. Singh, the soft spot usually isn't the merits. It's the paper. A respondent that never answered invoices, emails or ledger confirmations at the time has to explain that silence to the tribunal, and that's hard. Build the defence around what was actually said back then. Not what the business now wishes it had said.
Urgent relief: emergency arbitrator, tribunal or court
Interim relief protects what the fight is about while the arbitration runs. Securing a disputed amount, say, or stopping a bank guarantee being encashed, or keeping goods safe. Before the tribunal exists, you can ask DIAC for an emergency arbitrator under Rule 14 of the 2023 Rules. The emergency arbitrator has to pass the order within 14 days of appointment. That order lasts 90 days unless the tribunal modifies, substitutes or vacates it, and only the tribunal can extend it. In Municipal Corporation of Delhi v. Himalayan Flora and Aromas Pvt Ltd (2025), the Delhi High Court held that the order lapses after 90 days.
Once the tribunal is in place, you ask it for interim measures under Section 17 of the Act and Rule 15, and Section 17(2) makes them enforceable like court orders. In Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings v. Future Retail (2021) the Supreme Court treated an emergency arbitrator's order as an order under Section 17(1). You can also go to court under Section 9. If you get relief before arbitration begins, the arbitration has to start within 90 days. Once a tribunal exists, the court ordinarily steps in only if Section 17 wouldn't be effective. Our guide on the DIAC emergency arbitrator compares the three routes.
The award: interest, costs and corrections
An award has to be written, signed and reasoned, with its date and seat stated. It should deal with every claim and counter claim, interest for each period, and costs. Rule 31.3 allows DIAC to publish awards. But a party can ask in writing, before publication, for the award to stay confidential. If privacy matters to you, make that request early.
Section 31(7)(a) lets the tribunal award interest up to the date of the award unless the contract says otherwise. Section 31(7)(b) adds post-award interest until payment, by default at two percent above the current rate of interest on the date of the award. Under Section 31A of the Act and Rule 32, costs generally follow the event. That includes the fees deposited with DIAC and reasonable legal costs, though the tribunal can depart from it for reasons like a party's conduct or a settlement offer that was turned down. Spot a computation or clerical error? Within 30 days of receiving the award, either party can ask the tribunal under Section 33 to correct it.
Challenging a DIAC award under Section 34
A Section 34 petition isn't an appeal. The court won't re-examine the evidence or swap in its own reading of the contract (Ssangyong Engineering v. NHAI, 2019). The grounds are narrow: incapacity, an invalid arbitration agreement, no proper notice, an award that goes beyond the reference, a tribunal composed irregularly, a dispute that can't be arbitrated, and conflict with the public policy of India. Public policy covers fraud or corruption, the fundamental policy of Indian law and basic notions of morality or justice. Domestic awards can also be attacked for patent illegality on the face of the award.
You get three months from receiving the award, plus up to 30 days for sufficient cause. Not a day more. In Gayatri Balasamy v. ISG Novasoft (2025) the Constitution Bench said courts have a limited power to modify an award, for instance by cutting out an invalid part or fixing clerical errors, but can't review the merits. Appeals under Section 37 go to the Commercial Appellate Division. See our guide on challenging a DIAC award under Section 34.
Enforcing a DIAC award when the other side won't pay
Section 36 of the Act lets you enforce an award as if it were a decree, once the time for a Section 34 challenge runs out or the challenge fails. Since 2015, simply filing a Section 34 petition doesn't stay the award. Courts usually grant a stay only on conditions, such as a deposit or security. An unconditional stay is kept for a prima facie case of fraud or corruption. That's rare.
Execution follows Order XXI of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. Bank accounts and receivables can be attached, and property attached and sold. You can execute the award wherever the losing party's assets are, so a DIAC award against a company whose factory is in Ghaziabad or Gurugram can be executed there. The practical steps are in our guide on enforcing a DIAC award.
Where a DIAC case is filed, and which court keeps watch
You file the arbitration with DIAC on the Delhi High Court campus in New Delhi. Rule 23.1 of the 2023 Rules makes New Delhi the seat unless the parties expressly agree on something else. The seat decides which courts supervise the arbitration, Section 9 applications and Section 34 challenges included. Hearings can happen at another venue. The seat stays the same.
Within Delhi, value decides the forum. For arbitrations of a commercial dispute of specified value (Rs 3 lakh and above), Section 10 of the Commercial Courts Act sends court applications to the Commercial Division of the Delhi High Court if the value is above Rs 2 crore. Below that, they go to the Commercial Court at District Judge level that has jurisdiction, at Saket, Tis Hazari, Patiala House or wherever the case belongs. The limit has been under review since late 2025, so check where it stands now. See our page on the Delhi High Court Commercial Division.
Being from Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram or Faridabad changes nothing about the arbitration, because the seat is Delhi. You feel it at enforcement. Execution is filed where the assets are, in the court designated as Commercial Court for that district in Uttar Pradesh or Haryana.
What to gather before a DIAC arbitration
The contract and the clause
- The signed contract, or the purchase orders or work orders, with every annexure and amendment
- The arbitration clause itself, plus any later email or letter that talks about arbitration
- The Delhi High Court's Section 11 order, if the matter was referred to DIAC that way
- A board resolution or authority letter for whoever will sign the pleadings
Where the money went
- Invoices, running bills, delivery challans and any acknowledgments
- Ledger extracts and account statements, and balance confirmations if you have them
- Bank statements showing what was paid, in full or in part
- GST returns or e-invoice records showing the transaction
Who said what
- Emails, WhatsApp messages and letters about the work, delays, defects or payment
- Minutes of meetings and site records
- The notice invoking arbitration, proof it was delivered, and any reply
- A certificate under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam for the electronic records
If you're the respondent
- The DIAC Request, and the exact date it reached you
- Your own record of performance, defects, delays and what you'd counter claim
- Anything bearing on limitation, like the date of the last invoice or payment
- Details of any case already running in court or before the MSME Facilitation Council
How we handle DIAC matters
- We read the clause before anything else. Does it name DIAC? Does it let one side appoint alone? What seat does it name, and does this dispute even fall within it? A defect caught early can be fixed with a memorandum of consent or a Section 11 petition.
- We write down the limitation date. For each claim we note when the cause of action arose and the last day for the Section 21 notice. Then we work backwards from there.
- We work out the fees with you. Using the current schedule, we calculate the likely DIAC deposit on your claim and on any counter claim. You'll know what you're depositing, and when.
- We keep an eye on interim relief. If assets or a bank guarantee are at risk, we decide in the first week whether it's an emergency arbitrator at DIAC or a Section 9 petition in court.
- We draft with the award in mind. Advocate B.K. Singh prepares every Statement of Claim thinking about the final award. Each claim is tied to a document, each figure can be traced, and interest is pleaded period by period. That makes the award easier to write and harder to attack.
- We stay on after the award. The same team handles Section 34 petitions, stay conditions and execution, with Advocate Sadhna Singh running the day-to-day recovery work. Fees are discussed at the first meeting and agreed in writing, stage by stage.
Suppliers, MSMEs, startups and big companies: what's different
If you're a registered micro or small supplier and a buyer owes you money, there's a separate route. Section 18 of the MSMED Act, 2006 lets you refer the dispute to the MSME Facilitation Council, which conciliates first and then arbitrates or sends the matter to an institution. In Gujarat State Civil Supplies v. Mahakali Foods (2022) the Supreme Court held that Section 18 overrides a private arbitration clause. And under Section 19, a buyer challenging such an award has to deposit 75 percent of the amount first. Our guide on DIAC or the MSME Facilitation Council sets the two side by side.
Startups and service companies usually hit a cash wall. A Rs 50 lakh claim means a fee deposit before any money comes in, maybe including the other side's half as well. Fast track arbitration under Section 29B, decided on written submissions with an award within six months, is worth proposing. Both sides have to agree, though.
Large companies and public sector bodies are often on the respondent side. Their trouble is internal: getting approval for fee deposits, for nominating an arbitrator and for settling. Start those approvals the day the Request arrives. DIAC's 30-day window won't wait for a committee meeting.
Mistakes that cost businesses money at DIAC
- Waiting for the other side to appoint. Under a one-sided appointment clause, claimants sometimes wait for months. A Section 11 petition is usually quicker.
- Letting the 30-day Response window slip by. Ignore the Request and you're presumed to consent. You also lose your voice on the tribunal.
- Paying the deposit late. Rule 33.5 allows a claim or counter claim to be terminated if the deposit isn't in within 30 days of falling due.
- Raising jurisdiction too late. Section 16(2) wants the plea no later than the Statement of Defence.
- Missing the Section 34 deadline. Three months plus 30 days is the absolute outer limit, and no court can stretch it.
- Not opposing the stay application properly. A winner who doesn't press for a deposit as a condition of stay can end up waiting years to be paid.
An invented example: a panel supplier's claim at DIAC
This is a made-up example, not a real client. A Delhi company that makes electrical panels has a contract with a Gurugram construction firm. The clause sends disputes to DIAC arbitration before a sole arbitrator. Invoices worth Rs 1.4 crore have sat unpaid for more than a year, and the builder says the panels came late and were faulty.
The supplier sends a notice invoking arbitration within limitation. It then files a Request at DIAC with the contract, invoices, delivery challans, emails confirming delivery and five names from the panel. The builder files its Response on the 30th day, gives five different names and adds a Rs 60 lakh counter claim for delay. No name is common to both lists. So DIAC appoints the arbitrator. The builder pays its share of fees on the counter claim but not on the main claim, and the supplier pays the gap and asks the tribunal to account for it.
Pleadings close in five months. Evidence takes eight. The award comes about 20 months after the Request and allows most of the principal with interest and costs, and part of the counter claim. The builder's Section 34 stay is granted only on deposit, and the net amount is recovered. What carried it were the delivery challans and emails. Not clever argument.
If DIAC is in your contract: what to do this week
Owed money? Find the arbitration clause. Note the date each invoice or claim fell due, and check whether anyone ever sent a notice invoking arbitration. If limitation is close, send the notice first, because under Section 21 it fixes the date the arbitration commences. After that, estimate the DIAC fee on your claim so the deposit doesn't catch you short.
If a Request from DIAC has reached you, write down the date you got it and count 30 days from there. Collect your contract, correspondence and accounts. Work out whether you have a counter claim, and shortlist arbitrators you'd be comfortable with. Don't reply to the claimant informally on the merits before you've taken advice. The tribunal will read whatever you write. For arbitrations outside DIAC, such as ad hoc cases before other High Courts, our network site arbitrationlawyer.in has you covered.
Want your contract, the arbitration clause and the notices checked before you file or respond? Share them with Advocate B.K. Singh's team through our contact page.
Frequently asked questions
What is DIAC in arbitration?
DIAC is the Delhi International Arbitration Centre. The Delhi High Court set it up, and it began working in 2009. It runs arbitrations under its own rules, appoints arbitrators from its panel when the parties can't agree, collects fees and provides hearing rooms. You'll find it on the Delhi High Court campus in New Delhi.
Do I need a lawyer for a DIAC arbitration?
The rules don't insist on one, and a company can send an authorised officer. But pleadings, documents, witness evidence and objections follow a formal pattern close to a civil suit, and the award can be challenged only on narrow grounds. Most businesses with a serious claim or defence do get an advocate.
How long does a DIAC arbitration take?
Usually about one and a half to two and a half years from the Request to the award, for a domestic case. Section 29A of the Act wants the award within 12 months of pleadings closing, with six more months if both sides agree, and anything beyond that only through the court. Fast track arbitration under Section 29B can be quicker, if both agree to it.
Who pays the DIAC arbitrator's fee?
To start with, each side deposits half of the arbitrators' fees and administrative costs, as DIAC directs. At the end, the tribunal decides who bears the costs under Section 31A of the Act. Generally the loser pays. If one side won't pay its half, the other can pay it to keep the case going.
Can the Delhi High Court send my case to DIAC without my consent?
If there's a valid arbitration agreement and the appointment procedure has broken down, yes. The court can appoint an arbitrator under Section 11 and often sends the parties to DIAC. It only checks, on a first look, that an arbitration agreement exists. Your objections on limitation or scope then go to the tribunal.
What happens if I don't reply to a DIAC Request for Arbitration?
Under Rule 5.1 of the 2023 Rules, a respondent that doesn't file a Response within 30 days is presumed to have agreed to arbitrate at DIAC. The tribunal can still be formed and the case can go on without you. You lose your say on the tribunal, and you may face an award built mostly on the claimant's version.
Can I get urgent relief before the arbitrator is appointed?
Yes. Ask DIAC for an emergency arbitrator under Rule 14, who has to decide within 14 days. The order lasts 90 days unless the tribunal changes or extends it. Or go to court under Section 9 of the Act, but then the arbitration has to start within 90 days.
Can a DIAC award be challenged?
Yes, under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, within three months of receiving the award plus up to 30 days for sufficient cause. The grounds are narrow, and the court won't decide the facts afresh. Filing doesn't automatically stop enforcement either. A stay usually comes only with a deposit or security.