Credit Card Dispute Timeline: What RBI Rules Actually Require

Disputing an unauthorized or incorrect credit card transaction in India isn't a vague, open-ended process — RBI has set specific timelines banks are required to follow, and knowing them gives you real leverage if your issuer is dragging its feet.

The initial complaint window

You generally need to report a disputed or unauthorized transaction to your bank as soon as you notice it, and RBI's framework on customer liability for unauthorized transactions ties your maximum liability directly to how quickly you report the issue — the sooner you report, the more limited your liability, with liability increasing the longer you wait beyond the initial reporting window.

How long the bank has to resolve it

Once a dispute is raised, RBI requires banks to resolve it and credit any amount due back to the customer within a defined period — historically referenced as within a set number of working days from the date the complaint is received, though the exact resolution window can shift with RBI circular updates, so it's worth checking your bank's current published timeline rather than relying on a number from an old year.

What happens if the bank misses the deadline

If your bank fails to resolve the dispute within the required window and you're not at fault, RBI's rules generally require the bank to compensate you for the delay, sometimes automatically. This is a real, enforceable rule — banks that stall dispute resolution beyond the required timeline are not simply being slow within their rights, they're outside RBI's framework, and it's worth citing this explicitly in escalation emails.

Escalating beyond your bank

If your bank isn't resolving the dispute within the required timeline or isn't compensating you as required, the next step is the RBI Banking Ombudsman scheme, which handles exactly this kind of unresolved complaint. Our credit card RBI Ombudsman complaint process guide walks through how to file one.

Keep your own paper trail

Since dispute timelines are measured from when the complaint is officially received, keep a dated record of when and how you reported the issue — an email, a ticket number, a screenshot of an in-app complaint — since a verbal phone call with no reference number gives you nothing to point to if the bank later disputes when you actually reported it.

Chargebacks vs disputes: a related but different process

Not every disputed transaction follows the same path as a fraud dispute — a merchant chargeback for goods not received or services not rendered runs through card network rules (Visa, Mastercard, RuPay) rather than purely RBI's unauthorized-transaction framework. Our credit card chargeback vs refund difference guide explains when each process applies.

Where to go from here

For the practical dispute-filing process itself, see our credit card dispute resolution process and credit card dispute chargeback process guides, and for fraud prevention that reduces how often you need any of this, credit card fraud protection tips is worth reading in advance.