Where vendor payments get stuck
- GRN not raised. Goods received, portal not updated; the payment clock never starts on their side. On yours it did: the Act counts from acceptance, not from the GRN.
- Debit notes. Rejections and short-shipment deductions applied without agreement.
- Portal invoices “under query”. Rejected for formatting while the dues age.
- Payment runs. Monthly cycles that push a 45-day invoice to 75 days.
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.
How we collect from large buyers
- We reconcile your ledger against POs, GRNs and portal records so the claim is exact.
- Your advocate sends a notice to the buyer’s registered office, CFO and company secretary within 24 hours, citing Sections 15 and 16 of the MSMED Act, Section 43B(h) and the MSME-1 disclosure.
- Most buyers clear the invoice at this stage; disputes on debit notes are negotiated in writing.
- If not, MSME Samadhaan before the Maharashtra Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Councils (regional councils for Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Amravati regions), where PSUs and listed companies appear like anyone else.