MSME Samadhaan: how to file a delayed payment complaint

If a buyer has ignored your invoice and your reminders, MSME Samadhaan is the next step. It is the government portal for filing a delayed payment claim, it is free, it is online, and you do not need a lawyer to use it.

It is also badly underused, mostly because small suppliers do not know it exists or assume it is a formality that goes nowhere.

What it actually is

Samadhaan is the filing front end for the Micro and Small Enterprise Facilitation Council (MSEFC) in your state. The Council first attempts conciliation between you and the buyer. If that fails, it moves to arbitration and can issue a binding award.

The important part: an MSEFC award carries the Section 16 interest — three times the RBI bank rate, compounded monthly — not just the invoice value.

Before you file, get these ready

• Udyam registration, active and dated before the supply. This is non-negotiable; without it you have no standing.
• The invoices, with dates and amounts.
• Proof the buyer accepted the goods or services — a delivery note, signed challan, acceptance email. The 45-day clock runs from acceptance, so this is what fixes your start date.
• The purchase order or written agreement, if one exists.
• Your reminder correspondence. Emails are enough. This shows you tried.

Check one thing first

Samadhaan covers micro and small enterprises only. If you are registered as medium, this route is not open to you. And if your Udyam registration is for trading — wholesale or retail — you are not a "supplier" under Section 15 for payment purposes, whatever your registration says.

It is worth confirming your own category before you file rather than discovering it afterwards.

Filing

Applications are made online on the Samadhaan portal against a specific buyer and specific invoices. You will need your Udyam number, the buyer's details and the invoice documents uploaded as files. Once filed, the case is routed to the MSEFC of the state where you are registered, and you can track its status on the same portal.

What realistically happens

Be clear-eyed about this:

• Many cases settle before a hearing. The filing itself is often the point at which a buyer who has been ignoring you starts responding, because the interest and the tax consequence both become real.
• Councils move at different speeds. Some states are quick; others take many months. The Act sets a 90-day target for the Council to decide. Treat that as a target, not a promise.
• An award still has to be enforced if the buyer does not comply, which may mean court.

None of that makes it not worth filing. It makes it worth filing early, rather than after a year of polite follow-ups.

The cheaper path

Everything here is recovery — expensive in time and in the relationship, even when you win.

The version that costs nothing is fixing the terms before the order: a stated payment term in the quotation, your Udyam number on the invoice, and a buyer who has agreed in writing. We have written the full sequence in how to actually get paid, and the buyer-side consequence that gives you leverage is in the 45-day rule.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check the current portal requirements and your state Council's process before filing.