Step 1: Get your documents in order (day 1)
- Invoice(s) with GSTIN and due date
- Purchase order, email or message confirming the order
- Delivery challan, e-way bill, lorry receipt or acceptance of service
- Ledger statement and every message about the payment
- Udyam certificate if you are a micro or small enterprise
- Cheque and bank return memo if a cheque bounced
Step 2: Send a written reminder with a statement of account (days 1–7)
Email and WhatsApp a polite but formal reminder with the statement attached and a clear date. Keep it short. This creates a record; many buyers pay here.
Step 3: Call the decision-maker, not the clerk (days 7–14)
Speak to the owner or finance head. Ask for a date and confirm it in writing afterwards. If you are an MSME, mention that interest at three times the bank rate is accruing under the MSMED Act.
Step 4: Legal notice (day 15 onwards, or day 1 if a cheque bounced)
A notice from an advocate puts the buyer on record and starts statutory timelines. For a bounced cheque it is mandatory within 30 days of the return memo. FundRaksha sends it within 24 hours of your documents, at no upfront cost.
Step 5: Choose the legal route if the notice is ignored
| Situation | Route | Where, for Delhi |
|---|---|---|
| Udyam-registered supplier, payment over 45 days late | MSME Samadhaan | Delhi Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council |
| Cheque bounced | Section 138 complaint | Metropolitan Magistrate courts at Tis Hazari, Patiala House, Saket, Karkardooma, Rohini, Dwarka and Rouse Avenue for Section 138 |
| Invoice or contract dues, no real dispute | Summary suit | District Commercial Courts for recovery suits |
| Contract with arbitration clause | Arbitration | Tribunal per the clause |
Recovering B2B dues in Delhi: what is specific here
Delhi’s wholesale markets in Chandni Chowk, Gandhi Nagar, Okhla and Bawana run on long informal credit, and a large share of suppliers also sell to government departments and PSUs where payments stall in paperwork. Delhi’s dedicated Section 138 courts move faster than most, and MSME Samadhaan applies fully to government buyers.
Main industries: garments and exports, electronics and electricals trading, auto components, printing and packaging and government and PSU supply.
Courts: Metropolitan Magistrate courts at Tis Hazari, Patiala House, Saket, Karkardooma, Rohini, Dwarka and Rouse Avenue for Section 138; District Commercial Courts for recovery suits; the Delhi High Court for high-value matters.
MSME claims: Udyam-registered micro and small suppliers in Delhi file on MSME Samadhaan, heard by the Delhi Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council (Office of the Commissioner of Industries, Government of NCT of Delhi). The Council sits where the supplier is, so a Delhi supplier can pursue a buyer in another state from home.
Step 6: Secure the settlement
Get any payment plan in writing with dates and post-dated cheques or a mandate. A missed instalment then has its own remedy.