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 Kolhapur |
|---|---|---|
| Udyam-registered supplier, payment over 45 days late | MSME Samadhaan | Maharashtra Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Councils (regional councils for Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Amravati regions) |
| Cheque bounced | Section 138 complaint | Judicial Magistrate First Class courts, Kolhapur, for Section 138 |
| Invoice or contract dues, no real dispute | Summary suit | District Court, Kolhapur, and its Commercial Court for recovery suits. |
| Contract with arbitration clause | Arbitration | Tribunal per the clause |
Recovering B2B dues in Kolhapur: what is specific here
Kolhapur’s foundries and the Ichalkaranji textile belt supply engineering buyers and traders across India, mostly through Udyam-registered small units. Casting and machining dues from larger buyers fall under the MSME Act, while textile trade dues are more often cheque-based and handled under Section 138.
Main industries: foundry and castings, sugar and jaggery, textiles (Ichalkaranji), leather footwear and auto components.
Courts: Judicial Magistrate First Class courts, Kolhapur, for Section 138; District Court, Kolhapur, and its Commercial Court for recovery suits.
MSME claims: Udyam-registered micro and small suppliers in Kolhapur file on MSME Samadhaan, heard by the Maharashtra Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Councils (regional councils for Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Amravati regions) (Directorate of Industries, Government of Maharashtra, Mumbai, and regional Joint Director of Industries offices). The Council sits where the supplier is, so a Kolhapur 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.