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 Mumbai |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Metropolitan Magistrate courts (Esplanade, Mazgaon, Andheri, Bandra, Kurla and others) for Section 138 complaints |
| Invoice or contract dues, no real dispute | Summary suit | City Civil Court and the Bombay High Court Commercial Division for high-value recovery suits. |
| Contract with arbitration clause | Arbitration | Tribunal per the clause |
Recovering B2B dues in Mumbai: what is specific here
Mumbai is India’s largest B2B market and its dues are the most varied: garment exporters in Dharavi and Andheri, chemical traders in Masjid Bunder, agencies and consultants billing corporates in BKC and Lower Parel. Cheque-based payments are still common in trading, so Section 138 is a frequent route, and arbitration clauses in corporate contracts often decide where a dispute is heard.
Main industries: textiles and garments, finance and services, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, media and advertising and import and export trading.
Courts: Metropolitan Magistrate courts (Esplanade, Mazgaon, Andheri, Bandra, Kurla and others) for Section 138 complaints; City Civil Court and the Bombay High Court Commercial Division for high-value recovery suits.
MSME claims: Udyam-registered micro and small suppliers in Mumbai 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 Mumbai 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.