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 Kochi |
|---|---|---|
| Udyam-registered supplier, payment over 45 days late | MSME Samadhaan | Kerala Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council |
| Cheque bounced | Section 138 complaint | Judicial First Class Magistrate courts, Ernakulam, for Section 138 |
| Invoice or contract dues, no real dispute | Summary suit | District Court, Ernakulam, and its Commercial Court for recovery suits |
| Contract with arbitration clause | Arbitration | Tribunal per the clause |
Recovering B2B dues in Kochi: what is specific here
Kochi’s seafood exporters, spice traders in Mattancherry and shipping agents around the port deal with both domestic and overseas buyers, and dues from hotels and resorts rise and fall with the season. Kerala’s Facilitation Council handles MSME claims, and the Ernakulam courts are experienced with Section 138 matters from the trading community.
Main industries: seafood processing and exports, spices trading, shipping and logistics, IT services and tourism and hospitality.
Courts: Judicial First Class Magistrate courts, Ernakulam, for Section 138; District Court, Ernakulam, and its Commercial Court for recovery suits; the Kerala High Court for high-value matters.
MSME claims: Udyam-registered micro and small suppliers in Kochi file on MSME Samadhaan, heard by the Kerala Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council (Directorate of Industries and Commerce, Government of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram). The Council sits where the supplier is, so a Kochi 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.