Reduce the dispute to a schedule: every invoice, the buyer’s specific objection to each, your response, and the resulting undisputed and disputed amounts. Demand the undisputed amount at once; there is no legal reason to withhold it. For the disputed portion, exchange evidence with deadlines and propose a settlement. If the buyer will not engage, an advocate’s legal notice and then the forum that fits: MSME Samadhaan (which conciliates first), arbitration under the contract, or a civil suit. Interest runs on what is eventually found due.
Diagnose the dispute
| Dispute type | Usual cause | What resolves it |
|---|---|---|
| Rate difference | Verbal rate changes, scheme not documented | Quotation, PO, earlier invoices paid at the rate, market practice |
| Quantity or shortage | Weighbridge or count differences at receipt | Challan, e-way bill quantity, POD, buyer’s GRN; claims must be at receipt |
| Quality or rejection | Inspection failures, late complaints | Spec, test certificates, timing of the complaint, onward use |
| Debit notes and deductions | Buyer’s unilateral adjustments | Contract basis for each deduction; evidence of cost |
| Reconciliation | Two ledgers that never matched | Line-by-line statement confirmed by both sides |
Once you know the type, you know the evidence. See buyer disputes quality after due date and buyer not paying interest on delay for two common strands.
The dispute schedule
Prepare one document with columns: invoice, amount, buyer’s objection (quoted), your response, undisputed amount, disputed amount. Send it with a cover note that demands the undisputed total by a date and proposes a 14-day exchange of evidence on the disputed items. This does three things: it forces the buyer to be specific, it isolates the money that must be paid now, and it becomes the basis of any notice, conciliation or filing.
Buyers resist the schedule because it ends the “everything is disputed” position. Insist on it, in writing, and treat refusal as a refusal to pay.
Negotiate from a position, not a plea
Once the schedule exists, settlement is a matter of arithmetic: the undisputed sum plus a negotiated share of the disputed sum, plus interest, against a date and cheques. FundRaksha’s advocate conducts this negotiation after sending a legal notice within 24 hours, and documents the settlement so it holds. India's No.1 B2B payment recovery company, trusted by 1,000+ businesses. Settlements reached after a notice are kept more often than those reached before, because the alternative is now specific.
Forums for a genuine dispute
- MSME Samadhaan. For Udyam-registered micro and small suppliers. The Council first conciliates, which suits disputes with some merit on both sides, then arbitrates if needed, with a 90-day target. Interest at three times the bank rate applies to what is found due. See MSME Samadhaan filing.
- Arbitration. If the contract provides. Suited to larger, document-heavy disputes.
- Civil suit. A summary suit for the undisputed part and a regular suit for the rest, or one suit where the facts overlap.
- Section 138. If any cheque bounced, it proceeds regardless of the commercial dispute.
Prevention
Confirm rates in writing before dispatch, state the inspection period on the invoice, reconcile monthly and get the ledger confirmed, and respond to every debit note in writing within days. For the dispute you have now, book a free consultation; FundRaksha will prepare the schedule with you and tell you what is realistically recoverable. See also trade debt recovery.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-08. Information for Indian businesses; not legal advice.