Rs 20K Cr of MSMEs stuck in pending cases against delayed payments

NEW DELHI : Around Rs 20,000 crore is stuck due to the pending applications and cases by Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) against the delay in payments from their customers.

According to the data on Samadhaan Portal by the MSME Ministry, Rs 20,413 crore were stuck in 82,215 pending delayed payment applications and cases filed by MSEs so far across various facilitation councils in the country since the launch of the portal in October 2017.

The portal has received 1.80 lakh applications so far involving Rs 41,804 crore, of which only 34,991 cases involving Rs 6,112 crore were disposed.

So far, 46,438 applications amounting to Rs 9,218 crore were rejected. As per the information available on the portal, the amount pending in applications and cases so far involved Rs 3,094 crore against various state governments, Rs 2,201 crore against different central public sector enterprises, Rs 1,679 crore against multiple state public sector enterprises, Rs 1,964 crore against proprietorship entities, and others.

The Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises introduced the MSME Samadhaan on October 30, 2017. The MSME Delayed Payment Portal, also known as MSME Samadhaan, was created specifically to support micro and small business owners all around the nation.

It is to be highlighted that the clause h under Section 43B of the Income Tax Act, which will come into effect on April 1, 2024, aims to address the issue of delayed payments by disallowing expenses to buyers on invoices from MSEs unless paid within 45 days and within 15 days if there is no agreement.

Earlier, in January 2019, the government had introduced the half-yearly MSME return form or MSME-1 form for buyers, who haven’t paid beyond 45 days, citing the reason for the delay and the amount due. Failure to file the form invites a penalty of Rs 20,000 by the company and every involved in default. Subsequent failures lead to Rs 1,000 per day and up to Rs 3 lakh.

Apart from online complaint filing on the Samadhaan portal, an Udyam-registered MSE can also file the complaint physically at the MSEFC in the respective city or state for delay in payment received from its buyer beyond the agreed date of payment. Every application filed with the council is visible to the council after being verified post 15 days of filing and then converted into a case for recovery or rejection.