In short. Your statement of claim is the main pleading you file as claimant at the Delhi International Arbitration Centre. It tells the tribunal what happened, what's in dispute, what each claim is worth and what you want, and every document you rely on goes with it. Rule 16 of the DIAC rules lists the contents. Section 23 of the Arbitration Act is the legal frame. The tribunal fixes the deadline at the first procedural meeting, usually a few weeks out, or you can file it with your Request. Begin with a dated chronology and a costed list of claims.
Is this your situation?
- You invoked the DIAC clause by notice two months ago. Not a rupee has come.
- The arbitrator held the first procedural meeting on video, and the order gives you four weeks to file your claim.
- Your accountant has the principal worked out, but nobody can tell you what to ask for as interest, damages or costs.
- There are four years of invoices, GST returns and WhatsApp messages in the file, and you need to make one clear story out of them.
- Some of what they owe you never made it into the notice invoking arbitration.
- You got a Section 9 order from the High Court last month, and now the arbitration has to catch up with it.
- You'd rather file the claim along with the Request and save a few weeks.
What a statement of claim is, in a DIAC arbitration
It's the written pleading where you, as claimant, set out the facts, the points in dispute and the relief you want, with the documents you rely on attached. Think of it as the arbitration version of a plaint. The arbitrator decides the case within the four corners of the pleadings. So whatever you leave out is often gone for good. And whatever you put in carelessly can come back at you.
At the Delhi International Arbitration Centre there are two documents to think about. The Request for Arbitration under Rule 4 of the DIAC (Arbitration Proceedings) Rules, 2023 starts the process. It gives the Centre enough to constitute the tribunal and fix fees. The statement of claim under Rule 16 is the full pleading on the merits. Rule 4.3 lets you file both together. If you don't, the tribunal will give you a date for the statement of claim at the first procedural meeting.
This guide is about drafting that pleading properly. Filing and serving the Request itself is covered in our guide to starting a DIAC arbitration. If you're on the other side, read how to defend a DIAC arbitration.
The provisions behind a DIAC statement of claim
Section 23, Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996
Within the time agreed or fixed by the tribunal, you state the facts supporting your claim, the points at issue and the relief you want (Section 23(1)). Both sides may file with their pleadings all the documents they think relevant, or refer to documents and evidence they'll produce later (Section 23(2)). The respondent can add a counter claim or set-off (Section 23(2A)). Either side may amend or add to its pleading, unless the tribunal thinks the delay makes that inappropriate (Section 23(3)).
Section 23(4) was added in 2019. Statements of claim and defence have to be completed within six months from the date the arbitrator, or all of them, received written notice of appointment. The twelve-month clock for the award under Section 29A starts once pleadings are complete.
Section 25(a), Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996
If you don't communicate your statement of claim within the time fixed, and can't show sufficient cause, the tribunal shall terminate the proceedings. We've seen this happen. It's not just theory.
Rule 16, DIAC (Arbitration Proceedings) Rules, 2023
Rule 16.1 says the claimant must file the statement of claim within the time the tribunal fixes at the first procedural meeting, unless it already went in with the Request under Rule 4.3. It also lists what the pleading must contain. Rule 16.2 deals with a late claimant. The tribunal can terminate the proceedings for those claims, order costs, or give other directions.
Rules 17 and 18, DIAC (Arbitration Proceedings) Rules, 2023
Rule 17 covers the statement of defence, set-off and counter claim, and your reply to any counter claim. Rule 18.1 says you need the tribunal's leave to amend a claim, and leave can be refused for delay or prejudice to the other side. Draft as though you won't get a second go.
What Rule 16 says has to be in it
Rule 16.1 of the DIAC rules has twelve items. Here they are in everyday terms:
- The parties. Everyone's full name, description, address and contact details, with email addresses for service.
- The dispute. What the dispute is about and how it came up.
- The relief and the amounts. Each relief you want, with the figure claimed under each head.
- The agreements. The contracts that matter, including the arbitration clause or the separate arbitration agreement.
- Supporting documents. Attested true copies of the originals. You'll need sets for the tribunal and the other parties, and one more for the Centre, as directed.
- Issues. The questions the tribunal will have to decide.
- The tribunal. The arbitrators, including the agreed number and any qualifications your clause asks for.
- Law and language. Which rules of law apply, and the language of the arbitration. Rule 22.1 makes it English.
- Court orders. Any court order or signed joint memorandum relevant to the reference, like a Section 11 referral order.
- Section 9 history. Whether a court passed a Section 9 order, and whether you requested arbitration within the period in Section 9(2).
- Terms of reference. The final terms of reference, if they've been settled.
- Value and fees. What each relief is worth, a declaration of the total of all claims, and the details needed to work out the arbitrator's fee.
Drafting a DIAC statement of claim, step by step
Start with a dated chronology
Don't write a word of the pleading yet. First list every event that matters, with its date and the document that proves it. Contract signed, PO issued, goods delivered, invoice raised, reminder sent, part payment received, dispute raised. That list becomes the spine of your facts. It'll also show you, fast, where the paperwork has holes.
Read the clause and your notice again
Check that the clause covers this dispute, names DIAC and fixes the seat. Check that your Section 21 notice identified the claims. If the clause needs something first, like talks between senior officers, note that you did it, or why it would have been pointless.
Check limitation claim by claim
For most money claims, count three years from the date each payment fell due, up to the day the respondent received your notice. Note any written acknowledgment or part payment that restarted the clock. One time-barred claim mixed in with good ones drags the whole pleading down.
Split and price every claim
Each claim gets its own head, its own figure and its own basis. Principal for goods sold. Price of work done. Loss of profit. Return of the security deposit. Interest. Costs. Put the working in a table or an annexure.
Facts first, then issues, then law
Tell the story in order, citing each document by annexure number. Then list the issues for decision in neutral words. Then say briefly why the law backs each claim. Cite the contract clause first and the statute after it.
Write a precise prayer
Ask for each sum by name and amount. Ask for interest with the rate and the period, costs under Section 31A, and any declaration or direction you need. 'Any other relief' at the end won't rescue a specific prayer you forgot.
Put the documents together and verify
Make an index. Paginate everything. Attest the true copies, add the certificate for electronic records, and get the authorised signatory to sign and verify the pleading. Attach the board resolution or authority letter.
Serve, file and note the dates
Serve the other side, and file with the Centre in the sets it wants or through its e-filing module. Then diarise the respondent's deadline under Rule 17 and the six-month mark under Section 23(4).
How to lay the pleading out
No form is prescribed. But a sensible layout makes the arbitrator's job easier, and your case looks as solid as it really is. An order that works: index and list of dates, the parties, the contract and the arbitration agreement, how the tribunal came to be constituted, the facts in sequence, each claim under its own heading with its calculation, the issues, the legal grounds, the prayer, the verification, and then the documents, indexed and paginated.
Put a short list of dates right at the front. A table is fine. Keep it to two or three pages at most. Plenty of arbitrators read it before anything else, and it shapes how they read everything after. Every date should point to an annexure. If the list alone shows goods delivered, invoices raised, and payment chased for months with no complaint from the buyer, you've won half the argument already.
Number your paragraphs. Keep them short, one fact or one point each. Whenever you mention a document, give the annexure number and the page. Don't repeat the same story in the facts, the grounds and the issues. Tell it once and refer back. Thirty clear pages usually do more than a hundred repetitive ones. Arbitrators notice.
Putting numbers on the claims and on interest
Every claim needs a figure and a reason for that figure. For goods sold or work done, the principal is normally the total of unpaid invoices minus credit notes and part payments. Show the working in an annexure: each invoice, its date, its due date, what was paid and what's left. Damages under Sections 73 and 74 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 need more. Say what the loss was, why it was foreseeable, and how you got to the number. Even a pre-agreed liquidated damages figure needs a line or two on why it's a fair estimate of the loss.
Interest has three periods. Claim each one separately. Pre-reference interest runs from the due date until the arbitration starts, usually at the contract rate. Pendente lite interest covers the time the arbitration is pending. Post-award interest runs from the award until you're paid. Under Section 31(7)(a), the tribunal can award interest up to the date of the award at a reasonable rate, unless the contract says otherwise. Under Section 31(7)(b), if the award doesn't fix post-award interest, it's two percent above the current rate of interest prevailing on the award date. Are you a registered micro or small enterprise? Then claim interest under Sections 15 and 16 of the MSMED Act, 2006 at three times the RBI bank rate with monthly rests, and attach your Udyam certificate. Our guide to interest on recovery claims explains how courts look at rates.
Costs come under Section 31A, and as a rule they follow the event. Ask for them in the prayer. Keep receipts for what you've paid DIAC, the arbitrator and your lawyers. And be realistic about the total claim. DIAC works out fees on claim and counter claim together, so an inflated claim pushes up the deposit you have to pay first. The guide to DIAC arbitration fees explains the schedule.
Are you still within limitation?
The Limitation Act, 1963 applies to arbitrations the same way it applies to suits (Section 43 of the Arbitration Act). Most money claims have a three-year window. Article 14 covers the price of goods sold and delivered, Article 18 the price of work done, Article 55 breach of contract, and Article 113 anything not covered elsewhere. A written acknowledgment of the debt signed by the debtor under Section 18 of the Limitation Act, or a part payment under Section 19, starts a fresh period from that date.
Under Section 21, the arbitration is treated as commenced for limitation purposes on the day the respondent receives your notice invoking arbitration. That's usually the date that counts, not the date of the statement of claim. There's a trap, though. A claim you didn't mention in the notice may be treated as made only when you first raise it, which could be the day you file the statement of claim. So put every claim in the notice, with a rough amount. And don't worry about Section 12A mediation under the Commercial Courts Act. It doesn't apply to arbitration, so it has no bearing on time.
If the dates are tight, file the claim you're sure of. Plead the doubtful one with reasons. Don't pad the pleading with stale amounts. Our guide to limitation for recovering money goes through the situations we see most often.
From notice to completed pleadings: time and cost
| Stage | Usual time | Cost, and what to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Notice invoking arbitration (Section 21) | As soon as the dispute is clear, and always within limitation | Drafting and courier charges. The arbitration commences the day the respondent receives it. |
| Request for Arbitration (Rule 4) | After the notice, once any response period in the clause has run out | DIAC administrative charges are paid on filing. The Centre publishes a fee schedule tied to the sum in dispute. Check the current one. |
| Response to the Request (Rule 5) | Thirty days from the day the respondent receives it | The respondent bears its own costs. |
| Tribunal constituted, first procedural meeting | Depends on how quickly arbitrators are agreed; often a few weeks | DIAC fixes the deposits. Under Rule 33.1 it's usually 50 percent from the claimant and 50 percent from the respondent. |
| Statement of claim (Rule 16) | Whatever the first procedural meeting fixes, often three to six weeks, or along with the Request | No ad valorem court fee, as this isn't a suit. Stamp duty may be due if the underlying contract was never stamped. |
| Statement of defence and counter claim (Rule 17) | As the tribunal fixes | A counter claim raises the fee base, because fees are worked out on claim and counter claim together. |
| Reply, rejoinder, admission and denial of documents | As the tribunal fixes; usually a few weeks for each | Only lawyer's time. Admission and denial cuts down what has to be proved. |
| Pleadings complete (Section 23(4)) | Within six months of the arbitrators getting notice of appointment | The twelve-month award clock under Section 29A starts here. |
If one side doesn't pay its share of the deposit, DIAC can assess fees separately. Under Rule 33.5, the Centre or the tribunal can terminate the proceedings for a claim or counter claim if the deposit isn't paid within thirty days of falling due. The Delhi High Court upheld separate assessment in Samsung India Electronics v. Delhi International Arbitration Centre (March 2026). Our own fees are separate. We discuss them at the first meeting and agree them in writing, stage by stage. For the whole timeline up to the award, see the guide to DIAC time limits.
What to annex to the statement of claim
The contract and the arbitration papers
- The signed contract, plus purchase orders, work orders and any amendments
- The arbitration clause, marked up or extracted on its own page
- Your notice invoking arbitration, any reply, and proof it was delivered
- The DIAC Request, appointment letters and the procedural order
- Any Section 9 or Section 11 order passed by the court
Proof you did your part
- Tax invoices, and GST returns that show the supplies
- Delivery challans, e-way bills, goods received notes and transport receipts
- Completion certificates, measurement sheets, emails signing off the work
- Inspection reports or test certificates, if they're likely to fight on quality
Proof of what's owed
- Statement of account and ledger, certified by your CA
- Reminders, demand letters and the legal notice
- Anything where they acknowledged the debt, confirmed the balance or paid part of it
- Calculation sheets for principal, interest and damages
Formal papers
- Board resolution or authority letter for whoever signs
- Your Udyam certificate, if you're claiming MSMED Act interest
- A certificate under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, for emails, chats and electronic ledgers
- Index, page numbers and the list of dates
Our document checklist for recovery claims was written with court suits in mind. Most of it works just as well for a DIAC claim.
Evidence: documents, witness affidavits, electronic records
Section 19 of the Arbitration Act frees the tribunal from the Code of Civil Procedure and the law of evidence, and lets the parties agree on procedure. That's flexibility. It isn't a free pass. The arbitrator still has to decide on evidence, and an award resting on no evidence can be challenged. So use the statement of claim to set up your proof as well as your argument.
File attested true copies of every document you rely on, as Rule 16.1(e) requires. Keep the originals ready in case the other side wants to inspect them. After pleadings, the tribunal usually directs admission and denial of documents, and then evidence by affidavit. Rule 27.4 allows the tribunal to have a witness's testimony presented in writing, and the other side can normally cross-examine at a hearing. Decide your witnesses now. Your sales manager on delivery. Your accountant on the ledger. Your project head on completion.
For electronic records, file a certificate under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. It replaced the old Section 65B certificate from 1 July 2024. The tribunal may not insist. But the court hearing a challenge or an enforcement petition will look at how the record was proved. Print emails with full headers and dates. Export WhatsApp chats so the phone numbers show.
Writing the facts for an arbitrator who has ten other files
Your arbitrator is reading your file along with several others that week. Make the first two pages carry the load. Start with one short paragraph: who you are, what you supplied, what's unpaid, and why the respondent has no real answer. Then the list of dates. Then the story, in short plain paragraphs, each tied to a document.
Deal with your weak spots before they do. Did the respondent complain about quality once? Say so, and show how it was sorted out, or why the complaint wasn't genuine. Did you agree a discount on one order? Say that too, and show it's been credited. If the arbitrator learns a fact from the defence that you left out, the rest of your pleading gets read with a raised eyebrow.
When Advocate B.K. Singh goes through a draft statement of claim, the first thing he checks is whether each rupee in the prayer traces back to a document in the annexures. If it doesn't, either a document is found or the figure comes out. Next he reads the respondent's own emails. A debtor admitting the dues in its own words is very often the strongest thing in the file.
The seat, and keeping every claim inside the clause
Most DIAC clauses make New Delhi the seat. The seat decides which court supervises the arbitration. Under Section 10 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, challenges and execution in a commercial matter go to the Commercial Division of the Delhi High Court if the value is above Rs 2 crore, and to the District Judge (Commercial Court) in the Delhi district courts below that. There's been a proposal to raise the district court limit, so check the current figure. If the clause says Delhi, parties from Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram or Faridabad are bound by it.
The tribunal gets its jurisdiction only from the arbitration agreement. Under Section 16 the respondent can object that a claim falls outside it. Under Section 34(2)(a)(iv), an award on something beyond the scope of the reference can be set aside. So frame each claim as arising under, or in connection with, the contract that contains the clause. Got several contracts with different clauses? Or a related claim against a group company that never signed? Take advice before you put them in one statement of claim. In Cox and Kings v. SAP India (2023) the Supreme Court accepted that non-signatories can sometimes be bound. The test is strict, though, and turns on the facts.
If the Delhi High Court appointed the arbitrator under Section 11 and referred the case to DIAC, give the order and its date in the statement of claim, as Rule 16.1(i) requires. Our guide to the DIAC process shows where the pleading fits in the overall sequence.
Drafting tips for different kinds of claimant
- Suppliers and manufacturers. Open with the delivery papers and the buyer's receipt. Put each invoice in the annexure as its own claim. Then if they dispute one, the rest still stand.
- Service firms and IT companies. Link each milestone payment to the sign-off email or the acceptance certificate. If the client never formally accepted, show they've been running your deliverable live.
- Lenders and NBFCs. Attach the loan agreement, sanction letter, proof of disbursement and the statement of account, and work out interest exactly the way the agreement says. Check that the lender didn't appoint the arbitrator on its own. Courts have held that impermissible.
- Startups. Founder and investor claims tend to mix money with control. Keep the money claim apart from any declarations about shares, and ask for each one specifically.
- MSMEs. If you're a registered micro or small supplier, think about whether the MSME Facilitation Council under Section 18 of the MSMED Act is the better place before you file at DIAC. We compare them in DIAC or the MSME Facilitation Council.
- Large companies. You'll probably face a counter claim. Get ahead of it by dealing with the respondent's known complaints in your claim, and keep the quantum sensible so the fee base doesn't balloon.
Mistakes that weaken a statement of claim
- One big number. A single total with no heads and no working is easy for the tribunal to cut. And it's hard for you to save the parts that were good.
- 'Documents will be produced at the time of evidence.' That line invites the objection that you held them back. File them now.
- No interest claimed. You have to ask for pre-reference and pendente lite interest. The tribunal won't give what you didn't ask for.
- Saying nothing about the Section 9 order. Rule 16.1(j) makes you disclose any Section 9 order and whether the arbitration started within the 90 days. Staying quiet looks like hiding something.
- Claiming far too much. Inflated damages push up the DIAC deposit, invite costs against you and hurt your credibility on the claims that are sound.
- Planning to fix it by amendment. Rule 18.1 needs the tribunal's leave, and leave can be refused for delay. Get it right the first time.
- Missing the date. File late without sufficient cause and Section 25(a) requires the tribunal to terminate the proceedings.
What happens once you've filed?
The respondent files its statement of defence in the time the tribunal fixed, with any set-off or counter claim, and serves it on you in advance under Rule 17.3. You then file a reply to the counter claim under Rule 17.4. Often there's a rejoinder to the defence as well, if the tribunal allows one. What if no defence comes in time? The tribunal can go ahead and, under Section 25(b), treat the right to file a defence as forfeited. You still have to prove your claim, though.
After pleadings: admission and denial of documents, framing of issues, evidence by affidavit, cross-examination, final arguments. Under Section 29A the award is due within twelve months of completion of pleadings. That can be extended by six months with consent, and after that only by the court. If speed matters most and your papers are clean, think about proposing fast track arbitration under Section 29B before the arbitrator is appointed. And if the respondent starts moving assets mid-way, the guide to interim relief at DIAC explains when to go to the tribunal and when to the court.
An invented example: an IT vendor chasing unpaid milestones
This is a made-up case, to show the drafting choices. A Noida software company builds an inventory system for a Gurugram retail chain. The contract is worth Rs 1.2 crore, payable in five milestones, with a DIAC clause and a New Delhi seat. The chain pays the first two milestones. Then it stops, saying the system has bugs. It keeps using the system in every store.
The vendor's first draft is one page, claiming Rs 72 lakh 'with interest and costs'. Its lawyer starts again. The facts now open with a list of dates showing each milestone, each sign-off email, the go-live date, and the chain's later emails asking for small changes. Every unpaid milestone becomes its own claim with its own annexure. The bug complaints are met head-on. The vendor attaches its ticket log, which shows every reported issue fixed within the support period. Interest is claimed at the contract rate from each due date. The Udyam certificate goes in too, backing an alternative claim under the MSMED Act.
The chain files a defence and a counter claim of Rs 30 lakh for business loss. Since the statement of claim had already answered the bug complaints with documents, the counter claim tells the tribunal very little it hasn't seen. This is only an illustration, of course. In a real case, it all depends on the documents and the tribunal.
What to do this week
Find your deadline. If the first procedural meeting has happened, the procedural order will have the date for your statement of claim. Count back from it. If it hasn't, think about filing the statement of claim with the Request under Rule 4.3. It saves time, and it tells the tribunal you're ready.
Then build the chronology and the claims table. Ask your accounts team for a certified ledger and a list of every invoice with its due date and balance. Ask sales, or the project team, for every email where the respondent admitted the dues or asked for more time. Those two things, the ledger and the respondent's own words, usually decide a money claim. In the DIAC matters that come to Advocate B.K. Singh at the drafting stage, most of the effort goes into making sure every figure in the prayer has a document behind it.
For court pleadings more generally, see how we draft a commercial suit. For how we handle claims and defences at the Centre, there's our DIAC arbitration lawyer page. If you'd like your contract, ledger and correspondence looked at before you file, send them to Advocate B.K. Singh's team through the contact page.
Frequently asked questions
What is a statement of claim in a DIAC arbitration?
It's the claimant's main written pleading. It sets out the facts, the issues, each claim with its amount and the relief sought, and all the supporting documents go with it. Rule 16 of the DIAC (Arbitration Proceedings) Rules, 2023 lists what it must contain. Section 23 of the Arbitration Act is the legal frame.
When do I have to file the statement of claim at DIAC?
Within whatever time the tribunal fixes at the first procedural meeting. That's often a few weeks. Or you can file it with the Request for Arbitration under Rule 4.3. Pleadings as a whole should be finished within six months of the arbitrators receiving notice of appointment.
What happens if I don't file the statement of claim on time?
Under Section 25(a) of the Arbitration Act, if you fail to file without sufficient cause, the tribunal shall terminate the proceedings. Rule 16.2 of the DIAC rules lets it impose costs too. Need more time? Apply before the deadline, with reasons.
Is there a court fee on a DIAC statement of claim?
No ad valorem court fee, because an arbitration isn't a suit. You pay DIAC administrative charges and the arbitrator's fees under the DIAC fee rules, worked out on the sum in dispute. Stamp duty may be payable if the underlying contract wasn't properly stamped.
Can I add a claim that wasn't in the notice invoking arbitration?
Often, yes, if it falls within the arbitration agreement. But limitation for that claim may be counted up to the day you first raise it, not the date of the notice. It's safer to list every claim in the notice. Adding claims after filing needs the tribunal's leave under Rule 18.1.
How much interest can I claim in a DIAC arbitration?
For the period before and during the arbitration, the contract rate, or a reasonable rate if the contract says nothing, under Section 31(7)(a). If the award doesn't fix post-award interest, it's two percent above the current rate on the award date. Registered micro and small suppliers can claim three times the RBI bank rate under the MSMED Act.
Do I need an affidavit with the statement of claim?
The DIAC rules don't prescribe a verification format. In practice, the authorised signatory signs and verifies the pleading. Tribunals often ask for a supporting affidavit, or evidence by affidavit, later on. Do what the procedural order says.
Can I amend my statement of claim later?
Yes, but only with the tribunal's leave under Rule 18.1 of the DIAC rules and Section 23(3) of the Act. The tribunal can say no if the amendment is late or would prejudice the other side. Treat the first filing as your only real chance.
Advocate B.K. Singh
Founder of B.K. Singh & Associates. MCA, LL.B., LL.M. More than twenty years in practice before the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court, district and commercial courts in Delhi NCR, and tribunals.
This guide explains the law in general terms and is not legal advice. For advice on your own papers, contact the team.