The NCLT was constituted under Section 408 of the Companies Act, 2013 and is the Adjudicating Authority for corporate insolvency under Section 60 of the IBC. It sits in benches across India, and an insolvency application is filed before the bench with territorial jurisdiction over the debtor company's registered office. Appeals go to the NCLAT, and from there to the Supreme Court.
How the NCLT works in India
The Principal Bench sits in New Delhi, and there are benches in cities including Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Kochi, Cuttack, Guwahati, Indore, Amaravati and Prayagraj. Each bench has judicial and technical members. Filings are made through the NCLT e-filing portal, and hearings combine physical and virtual appearance.
Under the IBC, the NCLT decides applications by financial creditors (Section 7), operational creditors (Section 9) and the company itself (Section 10). After admission it supervises the insolvency process: it approves the appointment of the resolution professional, extends the process where justified, approves or rejects the resolution plan and, failing a plan, orders liquidation.
Why it matters for getting paid
For a supplier, the NCLT is the forum of last resort for large undisputed dues against a company. It is not a debt-collection court: it will not decide a disputed claim, and it will reject an application where a genuine dispute existed beforehand. It is also where suppliers find out, often late, that their buyer is already in insolvency. Once an application by any creditor is admitted, a moratorium stops your own suit, and you must file your claim with the resolution professional instead.
How FundRaksha uses it
Before sending a notice, FundRaksha checks the buyer's company status and any pending insolvency, because that changes the strategy. Where dues are above ₹1 crore and undisputed, the advocate assesses a Section 9 route; where the buyer is already in the process, the advocate files the supplier's claim with the resolution professional. FundRaksha has handled ₹50 Cr+ of invoices for 1,000+ businesses. Start with a free consultation.
Worked example (hypothetical)
A Chennai packaging manufacturer is owed ₹1,25,00,000 by a company whose plant is in Tamil Nadu but whose registered office is in Hyderabad. Although the supplies were made in Tamil Nadu, the Section 9 application must be filed before the Hyderabad bench of the NCLT, because jurisdiction follows the registered office. The supplier's advocate checks the registered address on the MCA portal on the day of filing, since a change of registered office shortly before filing is a common source of objections.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-08. Information for Indian businesses; not legal advice.